Against The Tide
by TheDreamer0i
Summary: Follows a boy who plans on exploring the world, making the most of the innate connection between humans and Pokemon. When all hope seems too luxurious to hold on to, our hero makes the most of things as he carves his own adventure...
1. Shiver Me Munchies!

The waves crashing against the sides of the ship were audible even while lying on top. As the boy folded his hands behind his head he gazed up at the stars, admiring and tracing out pictures in his mind of what they could be. There was one cluster that looked a bit like a seadra, one long trail that might have been a dragonair, even a little mareep beneath the moon. The ship rocked slightly beneath him, enough to throw his eyes down toward the horizon. Still nothing but water. It had been that way for a full day now, but it shouldn't have been too much longer until Johto came into sight. And then another day before they arrived at Kanto. Not too long, then.

He sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees as he watched the slow roll of the water. It was almost as absorbing as star gazing, because no two waves were ever the same. Every now and then he would imagine he saw a pokemon poking its head into the night air, but he could never be sure he had actually seen them, or just mistook the playful water for one. It was hard to tell sometimes.

Glancing along the ship he was atop, he noticed people walking along the upper deck. It looked like a little girl and her father, holding hands as they walked what he deemed was a safe distance from the railings. He could hear her little squeals of excitement as she danced around, playing with a pokemon he had just noticed was there. Walking in between them was a minun, tiny by even minun standards. It scurried around their feet, occasionally jumping and climbing to the girl's shoulder to look around, only to get bored and jump down again, running around. The girl laughed as she tried to pet it, only for it to dash away again. The boy smiled, looking down at his own waist where a sole pokeball sat, hooked onto his belt. He tapped the small button while looking back up at the little family, who were almost out of sight. The minun had settled on top of the man's head, spinning around frantically as it took in the view from the hair of a giant. As they rounded the corner on the front of the ship, a familiar cry resounded out from his right.

He smiled as his snorunt nuzzled up against his leg, its short arms just barely able to reach outside of its self-made cloak. He brought a hand to its back, rubbing it happily. "How are you doing Berri?" the boy asked, folding his legs and propping the pokemon up on his knee.

"Sno-Snorunt!" it said happily, bouncing on the boy's lap.

"You wanna star-gaze with me?" he asked, gesturing above him.

"Sno-Sno-Snorunt!" Berri exclaimed, tilting backwards to look up at the sky. Almost immediately it started to tip over, off of the boy's lap and down what would very likely a painful tumble down to the upper deck.

The boy simply grinned and snatched Berri up before it could hit the ship, setting him back gently on his knee. "Now, what happened the last time you did that?"

"Sno…runt?" the pokemon guessed, shaking back and forth relatively quickly.

"No, you didn't just look up at the stars." The boy smirked, propping his elbow up on his free knee and resting his chin on it. "And you didn't stop your fall either."

"Sno…" the pokemon muttered, looking rather annoyed that the boy brought up the incident again.

He laughed. "Right. So allow me," he said, picking Berri up and turning him, laying him back down in his lap. He rubbed his knuckles against the cloak affectionately, amused that Berri was grumbling to himself. "Oh, come off it. It was funny!"

Berri didn't agree. Moments later he felt his pelvic area growing very, very cold. He shrugged, used to it by now, lying back down and smiling all the while. It was always better to imagine with company. "Don't you think that one looks like Rayquaza?"

After several minutes of bickering over which star patterns look like which pokemon, the two fell silent, enjoying the view even more so with the presence of their closest friend.

The boy's eyes shot downward. "What was that?"

"Snorunt?" Berri asked innocently, still looking at the sky.

"Was that your stomach?" the boy asked, getting no response from the pokemon. He picked him up gently and set him on his feet beside him. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"Sno-snorunt…" Berri said, looking rather cross with himself for letting his stomach growl.

The boy grinned, stretching as he prepared to get up. "You know I don't mind. Now, do you want some ice or not?"

Berri bit his lip, hesitating for a moment before nodding. "Snorunt…"

"Well said," the boy assured him, teasingly patting the top of the pokemon's cloak. He snatched his pokeball off of his belt, tossing it into the air. "Alright, I'll only be ten minutes or so."

Berri sighed resignedly and nodded, letting the pokeball turn him into energy as it opened, sucking him inside. The boy strapped the ball back onto his belt, turning left and right before standing up.

The top of the ship wasn't much to look at itself. Probably because no one was supposed to be up here. In front of him was a slight incline leading to a drop off just above the upper deck where he had seen the small family. Behind him was a relatively flat surface with a slightly rectangular indentation in the middle for whatever reason. He still hadn't figured out why it was there, but it provided a nice reassurance that he wouldn't roll off the ship while he was sleeping.

He started treading down the incline, careful to let his feet fall lightly in case someone underneath began investigating. He reached the drop off rather quickly, looking around to make sure no one was around. Guessing from the position of the moon, it was late enough that he shouldn't have to deal with many people wandering around. But there was always a chance.

He grabbed onto the ledge, jumping sideways off of the ledge and swinging down. Even hanging from the ledge, the ground was still several feet below him. He dropped, landing with a little more noise than he would have liked, which meant more than nothing. He shrugged, peering into the circular window to make sure no one was in the room he had just appeared in front of. As usual, there was no one. He had guessed it was just an unused suite, but again, he could never be sure. He just took it as a stroke of luck and stopped thinking about it.

To his left was the pathway that led around the bow of the ship, where the father and child had gone. To his right was the pathway back under the roof, where a miniature resort-like area had been made. A pool, hot tub, game tables, reclining chairs, the works. He had seen it a few times, but not only did it not hold too much appeal for him, it usually had some people in it. Even this late at night. So he just took the usual route. He headed toward the railing of the ship and peered over its edge.

There was one window swung open, but nowhere near where he needed to go. He could hear faint music coming from it, and maybe a voice or two. He listened for a moment before remembering why he had climbed down there in the first place. He hopped over the railing, using his torn shoes to an advantage as his toes gripped the edges of the windows. His hands found slight juts along with the edges of the windows, and he began making his way down the side of the ship. He edged around the open windows, going faster than what was safe due to wanting to get back on the roof. The stars seemed especially appealing tonight.

_Six windows down, four to the right._ He thought as he scaled the seemingly flat surface. Anything was climbable with enough effort and practice. He peered through another window and, satisfied that no one would see him, climbed further down. As he started to move horizontally, he felt a snag. He hesitated, knowing that a person couldn't have been that silent, looking behind him to see what had caused the jerk.

He rolled his eyes as he saw his bag caught on a small pipe, as it did every single time he made this trip. _Honestly, you'd think I'd be used to that by now._ He let go of the ship with his left hand for a moment, flicking at the bag to unhook it. It fell down to his back, the strap hanging comfortably around his shoulder once more. So comfortably, in fact, that he had once again forgotten he had a bag by the time he reached the right window.

He peered against the glass, looking into the hallway he had arrived at. Looking left and right, he saw no one. Thankful he didn't have to hang in waiting, he let go with his right hand, digging into the metal rim and pulling lightly. As always, it gave to the pressure, opening up and greeting him to a blast of cool air; cool only relative to the somewhat tropical weather outside. Poking his head in, he looked left and right once more, listening for any carpet-muffled footsteps of some night owl wanting some ice. When he didn't hear any, he placed both hands on the inside of the window, pulling himself through so easily he didn't even touch the sides of the window.

He landed satisfactorily on the inside, standing up. Turning around, he saw what he had come for; the ice machine. As he reached into his back, he thought of for what must have been the seventh time how strange it was that an ice machine would line the halls. With as fancy of a ship as the S.S. Tidal, one would think that they'd have ice makers in every room, along with a mini-fridge and widescreen TV. His stomach cringed at the bubbled thought of a mini-fridge, but he cheerfully ignored it as always, much to its dismay.

He pulled out a ragged wallet, what once had been nice-looking leather. He opened it up, finding nothing but a few crinkled pokedollars. Not expecting anything else, he plucked one of the bills out of the wallet, smoothing it out and inserting it into the machine. He tossed his wallet back into his bag, smiling as he heard the lock on the glass door come undone. He opened it up, plucking one of the many bags of ice from its contents. He wondered about taking two, but he figured he wouldn't have enough money for that. He still needed it for another day and a half, and he didn't want to spoil Berri either. He could never finish an entire bag anyways.

Closing the machine's door, the lock slid back into place as he opened his bag, setting down the ice in its second pouch. Having only two pouches, this made the bag very full. He slung it around his shoulder again, only just noticing it now. Looking around, he nodded with satisfaction before his eyes landed on the mirror at the end of the hall.

Another strange choice of furniture, but he wasn't one to complain. It let him make sure his clothes hadn't completely fallen apart yet. His shirt was actually holding together quite nicely, a light blue tee with a design of a skeletal tree on the front, shaded by white lines. It only looked a little less for wear. His darker blue jeans looked more like the kind they sold in stores, with various tears and worn spots covering them. They fit him well though, and had been worn in enough to manage almost full maneuverability. His belt was probably the nicest piece of clothing he wore, black leather with the classic addition of pokeballs on the right side.

His shoes and gloves, however, were pretty miserable looking. Likely due to his habit (and necessity) of climbing, the fingers of his white gloves and ends of his grey shoes had been reduced to shreds. Not that he minded, his toes were much better suited for climbing than the ends of his shoes. Though he supposed he would need to get some new clothes later. His hair, if anything, was a compliment to said gloves and shoes. Matted and greasy-looking, even from this distance, made him wish more than anything he could take a shower. All in due time.

Footsteps resounded in his sensitive ears. He whirled toward the window, not bothering to check where the sounds were coming from. He leapt toward it, crouching into it and turning around, his hands and feet naturally finding ledges to latch onto as he closed the window as quietly as he could, wincing at every creak it made. Closing it, he quickly moved out of sight, holding his breath as if it would make him invisible.

When no sounds of alarm or panic met his ears, he let go of the air trapped inside his lungs. Peering through the window, he smiled as he saw the same man and child as before, the minun curled up in the girl's arms, fast asleep. He left quickly, knowing he could always see them again as the ship disembarked. Or not.

He made his way back up the ship, slightly slower than before due to the weight in his pack. He took a little more care not to be seen through the windows, having been reminded what he currently looked like thanks to the mirror. He wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of being seen so low, even if it didn't bother him personally.

In what seemed like no time at all, he was back at the railing. He wondered briefly if it was a bad thing he often didn't remember how he climbed or which path he took. He shrugged, figuring it'd only come back to bite him if he tried to teach someone. Which wasn't likely.

He quickly scanned the upper deck and, seeing no one, pulled himself up and over the edge. His bag nearly flung itself off of him thanks to its extra weight, but he adjusted to it, barely noticing. He glanced at the window he had marked in his mental map, seeing no one in it still. Not very remarkable, only a few minutes later, but still. He took a running start, dashing a step or two on the wall to grab the edge of the roof. He swung his other hand up, feeling his fingers slip a bit. He pulled himself up, panting only slightly as he stood.

He walked slowly back to his self-proclaimed viewing spot, once again making sure not to let his feet land too heavily. Setting himself back down, he pulled his bag to the side, pulling the ice out of it. He took his hands and placed them on either side of it, pounding it several times to break the cubes into more workable pieces. Once he was satisfied with the crunched ice, he poked his pokeball again, setting the ice down as Berri popped out. "How long was it?"

"Sno-snorunt, sno!" Berri said, entire body shaking as snorunts are prone to do.

The boy shrugged. "Well, it doesn't pay to rush. Eat up!" He tore open a hole in the top of the bag, pushing it towards Berri. The pokemon smiled as he dove toward the ice, munching on it happily.

The boy looked back toward the sky, noting the moon. "Eh, it only took about twenty minutes."

"SNmpph," Berri said through a mouthful of snow.

"You know better than that…" the boy scolded, lightly flicking the snorunt on the head. Berri grumbled as he continued eating, not deeming talking worth the time.

The boy looked up once more. He sighed, leaning back and supporting himself on his arms. "You know, I still think the one looks like a sudowoodo…"


	2. Taking Money From A Rascal

The boy awoke to the usual sound of waves accompanied by a crowd of passengers chatting on the upper deck. He blinked, raising his arm to shade his face from the sun. Careful not to move too fast, he sat up, looking around.

No longer was the boat surrounded by never-ending ocean. On the left side rose the massive landmass of Kanto. Or Johto. He wasn't sure yet, there were too many people talking for him to make out what any one individual was saying.

Well, the crowd itself said that the appearance of the land was something of interest. Judging by how it was so close, it wasn't the first sighting. And the sun sat in the middle of the sky, telling him it was about midday. So the land hadn't appeared in the middle of the night and had just now been noticed. So that meant...

Yup. Looking further down the shore, he noticed buildings and a white extension of the shoreline. They had reached their destination.

He stretched and shook his head, trying to rid himself of his grogginess before they landed. The sun was still a little too bright for him, so he squinted along the crowd that had formed during his sleep. There were several passengers he had seen before, several he hadn't. He noticed the minun from the night before excitedly bouncing on the girl's head. He grinned, reaching toward his belt.

Moments later, Berri was sitting next to him, shaking himself awake. "Sno…"

"Yea, I know," the boy agreed. "We must have been up longer than I thought last night; I normally can't sleep through the sunrise."

"Snorunt," Berri said irritably. He didn't get to sleep outside of his pokeball while they were on the ship. As tired as he felt, he thought that he would have woken up at sunrise.

"No, you wouldn't have," the boy said, correctly guessing his pokemon's thoughts. He turned away from the snorunt, looking at the city that was approaching rather quickly. The shore stretched on for a good distance in either direction of the dock, but he'd rather not start swimming until he really had to. He'd probably wait until the ship was docked so he wouldn't have much of a chance of getting his things wet.

He turned, pulling his bag up from where it had been used as a pillow. He pulled off his shirt, stuffing it into one of the bag's compartments. Following suit with his boots and gloves, he started scooting to the back of the boat. Berri followed behind, waddling slightly.

Once he felt like he was hidden, the boy stood up, slinging his bag around his shoulders as per usual. He picked up Berri, setting him down on top of his head. The ship had almost reached the harbor, and the crowd on deck had begun to disperse. "Ready to go?"

"Sno!" his pokemon nodded, gripping tightly onto the boy's hair.

"Alright then." He made his way toward the edge of the roof, glancing around quickly to make sure no one was around. He grabbed the edge of the roof, using it to swing himself down to the deck below. He swayed slightly thanks to the extra weight on his head, but not enough to make him lose his balance. Without looking around, he grabbed the railing at the edge of the deck, propelling himself over the side and curving back to the ship. His sleepiness had either vanished or had no effect on his climbing, so he quickly started scaling the side of the ship.

Thanks to it being daytime and the fact that the ship was just about to dock, a few people saw him as he passed by their window. He usually ducked out of the way or moved fast enough that they forget about him in favor of their luggage, but it was always nerve-wracking. He moved a little slower than he had the night before, careful to keep his head as straight as he could for Berri who was clinging to his head. As he reached the bottom level of windows, he stopped for a moment to think about how he was actually going to get off. The water was a few feet below the windows, but there was nowhere for Berri to wait while he got in the water. Besides that, the boat wasn't quite still yet.

He worked his fingers around one of the bottom windows, seeing if it would open. Nothing. He moved a little closer to the end of the boat, trying another window. Nothing. One more down, it clicked, opening up as he tugged on it. Smiling, he plucked Berri off of his head and in the open window. Plucking his bag off of his shoulder, he held it out, the pokemon biting it with its large mouth.

He couldn't see around the ship, but he knew they had to be fairly close to the harbor. His guess was confirmed when the boat slowly came to a stop, cheering resounding from the top of the boat. He chuckled, wondering how happy the other passengers must be to get off. He looked up, trying to look at Berri and failing. "Ready buddy?" The snorunt shivered, but he figured that meant yes. "Alright, give me a sec." The boy let go of the ship, falling into the water below.

No matter how warm the air above it was, the ocean always seemed cold. It wrapped around him as only water could when he hit it, the waves enveloping him as he sank. His descent came to a stop, and he pushed the water out of the way to break the surface. His lungs met fresh air seconds after, the boy shaking his head, excess water flying out of his hair. He looked up at Berri, who was waiting patiently in the window. He held a hand up, opening his palm upwards. "Alright, jump!"

Berri hesitated for a moment before leaping from the window, aiming for his hand. He didn't aim very well. The boy shifted quickly to catch the snorunt before he reached the water, straining slightly under his weight and his bag. Quickly moving him to his head, Berri grabbed onto his hair, still clenching on the bag with his teeth. "Good job," the boy said, starting to wade toward the end of the boat. "We'll be on dry land in no time." As he swam around the edge of the boat, he saw all of the passengers trying to file off. He grinned, amused that his improvised method would get him off faster.

The shore came faster than he thought. Before he knew it his feet were touching sand. He swam a little farther, standing up a foot above the water. As soon as he took a step, a wave came from behind him and hit him in the head. He sprung back up, laughing as he quickly made his way for shore. Berri, who had gotten soaked by the wave, mumbled around the bag.

The boy trudged out of the water, his jeans weighing far more now. Water clung to his scrawny yet toned body, creating trails in the sand as he walked. Berri tapped him on the head, the boy shaking his head slightly. "Nah, let's get out of the sand first." He walked up toward the edge of the sand, where the trees took over onward. The city was some distance to his right, the harbor being only a small indent in the forest he was now heading into. He noticed a small half circle of treeless dirt reaching onto the beach to his left; he headed for it, plucking Berri off of his head as he did so.

He set the pokemon down beside a rock as he plopped onto it himself. "Well now. That was an adventure, wasn't it?"

Berri dropped the bag, looking around. He had taken most of the wave while the bag remained mostly dry. "Snorunt…sno?"

The boy nodded, looking around the ring of trees. "Yea, this is Kanto. Or, it should be. I suppose we'll be seeing a lot of it from now on." He reached into his bag, grabbing a comb that was missing several teeth. He ran it through his hair, smoothing it back. Once his hair had flattened to his satisfaction, he slipped the comb back into his bag. He reached into the second pocket, pulling out a pair of flip flops that were in surprisingly good condition compared to the rest of his clothes. He brushed as much sand off of his feet as he could before slipping them on, working his toes into them. He considered putting on his gloves before dismissing the idea. He had a bit of a trek through the forest before he would want them. Plus, it gave him time to dry off. "Ready to go?"

Berri nodded, hopping up after the boy as he began walking into the forest, slinging his bag around his shoulder. It wasn't all that much different from Hoenn, but there was a feeling that pervaded the place, a sense of something different that neither of them could make out.

A rattata leapt between two bushes up ahead of them, causing Berri to leap in alarm. The boy laughed. "Don't worry. He won't hurt ya."

His laughter stifled as the rattata returned, glaring at the two fiercely. "…or he will." He hesitated, stopping about twenty feet from the now hostile pokemon. He glanced around, not seeing any others. He noticed a sort of pathway up to his right, the opposite way of the rattata. "Look, we'll head this way, alright? No need to get up in arms." He began heading toward the break in the trees, smiling in relief when the rattata headed warily back into the bushes.

"See? Nothing to worry about," he said, patting the worried Berri on the head. The pokemon shivered.

They travelled for another ten minutes or so, spotting the occasional bird pokemon or rattata. The boy thought that at one point he had seen a pikachu, but had passed it off as his imagination. The trees began to thin, as he saw buildings closing in. "Awesome, we made it!"

"Snorunt!" the pokemon cried happily. He bounced up and down as the boy grabbed his bag, pulling out his shirt and gloves. His jeans hadn't completely dried, but they weren't dripping anymore. He slid on his shirt and gloves, feeling pleasantly comfortable again. He began walking toward the city, finding himself on a dirt road. He saw the houses lining the street, with small yards in front of them. He glanced back down the street, noticing almost immediately the girl with the minun walking with her father along the road. He smiled as they passed each other, waving at the girl and nodding politely at the man. They both waved in turn, and he was pleased to see the minun imitate them. He continued walking, headed toward what he assumed was the center of town.

A noise caught his attention. Well, several noises. It sounded like voices, all talking at once. As he neared the end of the road, he saw a group of kids a little younger than him gathering together. He could hear one of them shouting over the others, but it wasn't until he got closer that he realized what he was saying. "Won't any of you challenge me?"

"You always beat us Mike!" another kid cried.

The one named Mike apparently ignored this comment. "Oh, come on. I'll give twenty poke to whoever challenges and beats me!"

The boy's attention pricked at that. He could use that money, but he wasn't sure he should challenge a younger kid. Didn't seem quite fair.

"Hey, you! I've never seen that pokemon before, what's it called?" a random kid in the crowd cried. The boy rolled his eyes as all of the adolescent's attentions were diverted to him.

"He. And he's a snorunt," the boy said slowly, yet not unkindly.

"A snorunt?" a girl asked. They started to move closer. "Ooo, I've never seen one in person! He's so cute!"

"His name's Berri." the boy said, waving a hand toward his friend. Berri was blushing, but thanks to his cloak the kids couldn't see it.

"Can he fight?" Mike cried, pushing past the other kids in order to get a better view.

The boy frowned. He didn't like this kid all that much. "Of course he can. Why?"

"I challenge you then!" Mike said, puffing his chest out in an attempt to appear bigger. As he still stood a half a foot shorter than his would-be opponent, it didn't amount to much. Glancing around, the boy realized he stood at least a half foot over almost all of them. They were a bit younger than he had thought.

"I don't know…" the boy said hesitantly. He wasn't worried that Berri couldn't win, but if there was no incentive-

"I'll give you fifty poke if you can win!" Mike cried, grabbing a pokeball at his belt. "Come on, I haven't had a pokemon battle all day!"

The boy's eyes widened. Fifty? That'd get him a room at the pokemon center. At least for a night. He sighed, waving at Berri. "Alright, you're on. Berri, you ready?"

The snorunt nodded, grinning slyly. Mike laughed. "Finally! See, now you'll all see how tough my pokemon is!"

"We already know you can beat all of us Mike…" one of the kids mumbled. He was ignored. Mike threw his pokeball, a flash of red light coming out of it as a pokemon came out.

The boy raised an eyebrow at the raticate, the evolved form of rattata. It looked strong enough to actually pose a challenge, but Mike didn't seem like much of a trainer. The boy shrugged. "Alright. Let's go."

"Quick attack!" Mike yelled out. Almost instantly, the raticate took off, dashing in a serpentine pattern toward Berri.

"Double team." The boy said calmly. Berri bolted to his left, an after image left in his place. As he moved, more and more copies began appearing behind him, all moving the same way. The raticate dashed toward the one in front, speeding through empty air as the copy disappeared. As the rat pokemon came to a stop, the snorunt copies surrounded it, dashing around with no indication of the real one. "Powder snow."

The kids gasped as all of the copies opened their mouths, spitting out breaths that froze the air as they flew towards the raticate. Not knowing which blasts were fake, the raticate guessed which ones to avoid, running straight into the real attack. Snow covered the poor pokemon, its movements slowing down noticeably as it was buried in snow.

"Raticate! Hyper fang on the one to your left!" Mike cried. Burrowing out of the snow, the raticate plowed through the mini blizzard (actually to the right) and bit.

By some stroke of luck, it managed to hit the real one. Berri cried out as its copies and powder snow attack vanished, being forced to the ground by the weight of the charge. The raticate shook its head back and forth, shaking Berri along with it before flinging him up into the air. "That's how you do it raticate!" Mike cheered triumphantly. The kids began to droop, their new hope already leaving them.

"Berri, that was just a nibble! Show him how it's done." The boy said, smiling at the snorunt that was still flying, looking more determined than hurt. The raticate looked up in surprise, just in time for Berri to lock his jaw on the mouse pokemon's head.

"Raticate!" Mike cried out, terrified at the seemingly unhurt snorunt. How many pokemon had lost to that very attack? And here this newcomer was, not only still able to fight but winning!

"Berri!" the boy called, "back off and use headbutt!" Berri did just that, letting the raticate go and bouncing back a few feet. With only a split second to gain his bearings, Berri launched himself toward the raticate, ramming into its lower jaw, sending it flying backward. He slammed into the ground, legs twitching slightly as Berri returned to the boy's side.

The crowd of kids cheered as Mike fell to his knees. "No way…raticate…" He looked at the boy with a mix of sadness and surprise. "Dang, you're good. Where are you from?"

"Hoenn," the boy replied. He patted Berri on his head, the snorunt nuzzling into his palm. "Just passing through."

"Hmmph," Mike grumbled. He reached into his pocket, pulling out three crisp bills. "That was all my allowance for two months. If I give it to you, you have to promise to come back sometime and challenge me again, alright?"

"Deal." the boy said, smiling as he took the money. It had been a while since he had an actual bed to sleep on. "Get stronger, alright?"

Mike pulled out his pokeball, turning his raticate into a mass of red energy that zoomed into the orb. "Will do."

One of the other kids spoke up. "What's your name?"

The boy smiled at him, shrugging. "My name? Eh… um…. Raven."

Some of the girls of the group giggled. "We'll see you around then, Raven!"

Raven waved as he walked away from the crowd. He turned his head to look at Berri. "Not hurt, are you?"

The snorunt looked at his cloak where the raticate had bitten, seeing a tear in it but nothing reaching the flesh. He shivered slightly, the cloak forming a patch out of what looked like snow, covering the hole before transforming into the same material as the cloak. Looking perfectly new, Berri nodded. "Sno!" He looked at the boy, tilting his head. "Snorunt, sno snorunt?"

He shrugged. "Yea, I know. But no one knows me here; why not get a little creative?"

The two walked in silence down the street, spotting the pokemon center on one of the corners. As they neared it, they saw another trainer walking out of it, a girl looking to be about his age. She had dirty blond hair handing down to her shoulders, a slight curl in her bangs. She wore average middle class trainer attire, a pink jacket over a plain white undershirt with blue jeans. He saw three pokeballs strapped to her belt. She noticed him as well, waving at him.

Taken aback, he waved; though a little slow to react. She laughed, beginning to walk in the opposite direction. Berri snickered as he stumbled over a crack in the road. "Oh, quiet. She was probably waving to you." Berri's laughter continued, though he did hesitate at the boy's statement.

The two walked through the sliding doors of the pokemon center, finding no one inside but Nurse Joy herself. He never really questioned why they all looked the same. Why bother when it doesn't hurt anything? "Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Center!" She said cheerfully. He wondered for a moment how many times she said that in a day. "How can I help you?"

Raven smiled, walking toward her desk. Behind it was a chair where she was currently sitting, along with a healing machine with six slots atop it. Otherwise, there wasn't much in the way of furniture in the main floor, just a generic table and chairs on the right side and a decorative vase and end table on the left, next to some stairs. "Hello, I'd like to rent a room for the night."

"Of course, we have several available. Would you prefer the suite?" She asked, glancing down at her records of the center's guests.

"No, a regular room is fine," he assured her, pulling out the bill he had won from Mike, suddenly worried that prices would be a little steeper in Kanto than Hoenn.

"A regular room it is then," Joy said happily as she took the bill, handing back a twenty and a ten along with a room key. "Would you like me to show you to your room?"

"No thank you," Raven said, surprised at the fact that his worries had actually been reversed. In Hoenn a room was thirty to forty poke.

Joy nodded, gesturing to the stairs. "Your room is number six, upstairs to the left. Could I get a name, please?"

"Raven," he said after only a moment of hesitation. It still felt a little odd.

Joy nodded. "I'll let you know if you have any messages or deliveries. Have a wonderful stay Raven!"

"Thank you," he said as he turned toward the stairs, helping Berri up to his shoulder as he began to climb.

"Sno…" Berri said disdainfully, poking against the side of Raven's head.

He sighed. "Yea, I know. It can't hurt though, can it?"

"Snorunt sno snorunt..."

"Yea, I know." Having made it to the top of the stairs, Raven looked at his key again, having already forgotten his room number. He nodded, glancing around and seeing a one on the closest door on the right side. The door on the left had a two, so he headed down to the third door on the left. Satisfied, he slid the key into the lock and opened the door.

It wasn't much. The room had a queen sized bed with small end tables on either side, one having a lamp on it. There was a small indent in the room right next to the entrance, a door leading to what he assumed was a bathroom. A decent sized television stood atop a table in front of the bed, and an arm chair sat in the far corner of the room. Basic, but nicer than the woods. Raven smiled, placing his bag down in front of the TV.

"Perfect."


	3. Bite Bigger Than His Bark

Raven cocked his head, brow furrowed in confusion. He raised his left arm, waving it back and forth. Shrugging, he stepped closer to the mirror. "Guess that is me."

He hadn't really paid attention to his reflection when he walked into the bathroom. It would just be the same, scrawny kid he had seen all those times on the ship. But now that he had taken a shower, it was almost like a different person had stepped into the room. He even felt different. It felt like several layers of dirt had just been washed away. Probably because it had. His hair was the most noticeably different part about him, and despite it dripping water, it looked considerably less greasy.

He grabbed a towel, wincing slightly as he rubbed it along himself. As he finished wiping up the excess water, he slung it back on a rack, grabbing his boxers and slipping them on. He opened the door to his room, just then noticing how hot his shower was as steam flooded the room.

"Snorunt sno sno," Berri grumbled as the steam warmed him up. He shivered, forcing the air around him back into a state below freezing, just how he liked it. He tapped a TV remote, changing the channel.

Raven laughed. "Sorry, it's been a while since I've had hot water." He walked over to the armchair, where he had laid his jeans over the back. He reached for them, frowning as he picked them up. "I suppose I should get my clothes washed too. Maybe some new ones." Berri rolled his eyes.

He shrugged, pulling them on anyways. He didn't have anything else to wear in the meantime, so what did it matter? Berri changed the channel again.

"Alright, now that I've cleaned up a bit, we need to make some more money." Raven said, reaching for his shirt which had been placed under his jeans.

"Sno, sno snorunt," Berri said, changing the channel again.

"Oh, come on." Raven stood in front of him, blocking the view. "You're not even interested in any of this stuff anyways."

"Snorunt…" Berri shrugged, turning the TV off and hopping off the bed. Battles were more fun anyways, if a little more work.

Raven nodded, pulling his shirt on and shaking his head back and forth. His hair slapped around his face, flinging water everywhere. He merely ignored it and opened the door, letting Berri walk out in front of him, following close behind when his head jerked to the left. "You hear that?"

"Sno?" Berri asked, looking around.

"Sounds like someone yelling…" Raven said, looking suspiciously toward the window at the end of the hall. Seeing nothing of interest, he headed toward the stairs, slightly worried by the growing noise.

As he took one step into the lobby of the Pokemon Center, the doors slid open, revealing the blonde girl who had waved to him earlier. She dashed inside, holding two piles of feathers in her arms. Nurse Joy looked up with a frown on her face, instantly preparing the machine beside her to heal the two pidgeys. "What happened?" She asked.

The girl screeched to a stop at the desk, handing over the pokemon as gingerly as she could before throwing her hands against the desk, buckling over and panting heavily. Nurse Joy instinctively took the two birds and placed them on the machine beside her, which started to glow with a faint blue light. Raven watched from the bottom of the stairs, unsure of what to do as Berri looked at the two pidgeys curiously. Their injuries looked brutal.

Even though she was struggling for breath, Raven noticed that she never took her eyes off of the pokemon she had brought in, only beginning to talk when their bruises began fading. "I was training my pokemon at the edge of the forest…. there was this explosion that came from somewhere inside. I went to go look, but two thugs ran into me as I got close to where I thought the explosion was… I tried to stop them, but…" She looked sadly at the two pidgeys, stroking the closer one's feathers. "We didn't stand a chance."

"Sounds like a bunch of troublemakers…" Nurse Joy said, pressing a few buttons on the machine beside her. "Seems like we can't go a week without a group of them doing something. But don't worry; your pokemon will be in perfect condition in no time!"

_This happens often here? _Raven thought as Nurse Joy consoled the girl. _Huh. Guess I should try to head out earlier than I had planned…_ He shrugged, starting to walk toward the doors.

"No, I would have just run if they hadn't been carrying a pokemon with them!" The girl cried, her hands balling into fists. Raven stopped, bristling. _What..?_

"They had a pokemon with them?" Nurse Joy asked worriedly. "Did they use it to fight?"

"No, it was in a cage!" Raven's right hand clenched. "It was a little growlithe, and they were being so rough with it and shaking it around like they didn't care if it got hurt!" His brow furrowed. Berri hunched over, glowering. A brief image of a skitty beat and wounded in a cage flashed before his eyes. The air around him grew colder. "One of them used zubat to fight while the other one ran off, and-"

The girl stopped short in shock at the sudden touch on her shoulder. She turned to see Raven, feeling her legs go limp at his expression. "Where did they go?"

"Th-th-th-they were he-heading north I th-think!" She stammered, wincing as his grip on her tightened.

"Can you take me there?"

Nurse Joy frowned, gesturing to the two pokemon on the machine. "Raven, she's just gone through a traumatic experience and her pokemon aren't healed yet, you can't expect her to-" Her words seemed to fail her as he turned to look at her.

"No, it's ok!" The girl said quickly, twisting out of Raven's grip. "I can take you, but please heal my pokemon Nurse Joy!"

The nurse looked back and forth between the two, stammering. "Well-I-but… oh, alright, go ahead. They'll be healed in no time." She glared at Raven, ignoring his volatile expression for the time being. "Make sure to keep her safe."

Raven nodded, gesturing for the girl to lead the way. She took off at a jog, running out of the doors as Raven scooped Berri onto his shoulder, following close behind. His hair, still damp, started freezing together at the ends thanks to Berri's anger.

The girl was panting by the time they reached the forest's edge. Raven glanced around, noting the thin trail of smoke coming from inside the forest. "Which way did they go?"

She gasped, talking between breaths. "This isn't… where we fought."

"Then take me there! We can't waste any more time!" Raven said a little angrily, ignoring the hurt look on the girl's face. Apologies could come later. She stood up straight again, taking off into the maze of trees. He smiled, silently appreciating her efforts to help him.

They ran for another two minutes before a shockwave resounded through the ground. The girl lost her footing, her toe catching on a rock. She cringed as she fell face first toward a tree, only to feel strong arms wrap around her chest and stomach, pulling her back to her feet. She looked at the boy only to find him looking around once more, as if he didn't realize that he had just caught her. And he didn't even look like he was out of breath! "Was that another explosion?"

She frowned. "That felt more… like an earthquake attack… but this is the spot, this is where I saw them."

"Which way did they head?"

She raised her hand toward a gap in the trees, where some people had obviously run through recently. Trampled plants and upturned mud littered the ground, and several broken branches hung limply from their trees. Raven immediately took off in that direction, pausing when he heard the girl coming after him. He turned, looking over his shoulder. "You don't need to come, I can handle it."

She caught up to him defiantly, trying her best not to pant in exhaustion. "I do too need to come! I want to make sure that pokemon's alright!"

Raven shrugged. "Suit yourself." He turned and started running again. She followed, albeit a bit slower.

Raven dashed in and out of the trees, making sure that he didn't hit Berri in the face with any low hanging branches. The trail was still easy to make out, as if the two thugs were sure no one was following them. Or were cocky enough to think that they could beat anyone who did. He gnashed his teeth.

Dodging around another tree, he burst into a clearing. It wasn't as big as the one he had found near the beach, but it was big enough to make him lose the trail briefly. He slowed to a stop, looking around too quick to really notice anything. He heard the girl stumbling around behind him, feeling a twinge of guilt that he hadn't stayed back to help her. He brushed the feeling aside, looking around for any other sign of movement. He found it quickly, a similar trail beaten through the forest just up to his right. It looked as if it were heading toward the thin trail of smoke that was just barely visible. He took off once more, Berri holding on easily to his shoulder.

The girl made her way into the same clearing Raven had just moments after he left it. She sighed, supporting herself on a nearby tree as she tried to catch her breath. She glanced toward the path to her right, noticing it instantly thanks to the layer of frost that had coated the surrounding foliage. She didn't know if the boy and the snorunt were doing that to make a trail for her or it was just an expression of their anger. Judging from how determined he looked, she almost felt a little bad for the thugs she had run into earlier. She grimaced, thinking of her pokemon. Pity gone, she took off again, failing to notice that she hadn't actually caught her breath.

Raven could hear voices. They weren't loud, but it was something. The trail hadn't disappeared, but it was reassuring to know he was heading toward something instead of following a dead lead. He stumbled slightly as another earthquake attack shook the area, much stronger thanks to his proximity to its center. He took his fall in stride and dove around a tree, Berri hopping off as Raven rolled into a crouch. They could hear the voices clearly now, and they weren't happy.

"Why don't you just give up, Jenny?! You can't win!" a slightly raspy voice taunted

A much more feminine sounding voice retorted. "I can't! Not while you're holding that pokemon hostage!"

Another voice spoke up, unnaturally deep. "Oh, we're not holding him, he's our friend! Right little guy-" A snarl and a snap cut the person off, his cry of pain showing that he was trying to disguise his voice earlier. "Ah! You little shit, I'll-"

Raven burst through the line of trees that opened into an enormous clearing. There he saw a woman with blue hair and a police officer outfit crouching on the ground beside a nidoran, shielding it from a sandshrew and zubat. Behind them were two punks, looking to be no older than Raven himself. Between them was a cage with a growlithe in it, cringing while one of the thugs made as if he were about to hit it. All of them turned toward the newcomer, Jenny rising to her feet as moral obligation took over.

"Oh no, you shouldn't be here!" She cried, making shooing motions with her hands. "I can't let another citizen get hurt, they're too strong!"

Raven ignored her, his expression enough to make both of the thugs hesitate before speaking.

"Better listen to her kid." The one with the fake deep voice said, pulling his hand out of the cage. "We would have messed up that girl like her pokemon if she hadn't run off."

Berri hopped out beside Raven, looking much scarier than any snorunt had a right to be. Raven began walking toward the Jenny, the thug's pokemon turning toward this new enemy.

"Hah! A snorunt?!" The raspy sounding one laughed. It reminded Raven of seviper's hiss. "That thing won't stand a chance."

"Berri," Raven said calmly, not intimidated at all by the two pokemon in front of him. "Get them away from her."

"Sno…" Berri growled, his form blurring into several as he used double team. The sandshrew and zubat tensed, watching the blurry figures carefully.

The zubat let out a shriek as Berri rammed into its back, crashing into the ground from the force of the headbutt. The two thugs started in surprise. The sandshrew whirled around, seeing nothing but the zubat's limp body resting in a small crater on the ground. He turned back to where the double team clones were, only to see that they had surrounded him. Their icy stares were the first sight in a long time that gave the sandshrew doubt about a battle.

"Sandshrew, get back!" the raspy one yelled as the deep voice thug pulled out a pokeball, retrieving his zubat. The sandshrew hopped backwards out of the ring of illusions, doing several flips before landing in front of his trainer. Berri's copies slowly melded into one, that one sinking into the ground. The real Berri had already made it back to Raven's side, walking with him as they approached the astonished Jenny.

"How did you-" the police officer started only to notice the girl who had pointed her in the right direction from before hopping out of the bushes. She looked completely winded, unlike the calm individual in front of her. Kneeling beside her and reaching into his bag, Raven pulled out a small potion, handing it to Jenny. "Use this and go to the pokemon center. Your nidoran can't take any more."

Jenny turned away from the girl to look at him indignantly. "I can't run away, this is my job! I've already called for back-up, and-"

"We'll be gone long before they get here." The thug with the fake deep voice said confidently, tossing another pokeball in his free hand. He threw it at the ground, its shell opening to reveal another zubat. "Right after we beat this punk."

Raven slowly stood back up, turning to face the thugs. Berri had already placed himself between his owner and the kidnappers, the ground around him steadily becoming coated in ice. They took a step back.

"Eh… yea. We'll beat him in no time." The raspy one said, not sharing in his partner's confidence. He pointed at the newcomer. "Sandshrew! Use poison sting!"

His pokemon did as he was told, launching a noxious looking needed from its mouth, aimed directly at Berri. The snorunt's eyes flashed for a moment, but he made no other movement. The needle froze in midair, falling to the ground and shattering. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.

"Berri," Raven said, his voice rising as he tried to restrain himself from going and taking care of them himself. He knew the grudge wasn't his alone. "Ice them."

Berri launched off the ground, not even bothering to create illusions of himself now. The sandshrew jumped into a defensive position, his arms crossed over his chest. The zubat flew around frantically, attempting to avoid being hit. When no attack came, they both glanced around, not seeing the snorunt anywhere.

"It's above you! Zubat! Use supersonic!" One of the thugs cried, no longer trying to disguise his voice.

The zubat turned upward, emitting a high pitch shriek that resulted in visible sound waves flying directly… toward open sky. The zubat chittered away, trying to find the enemy when it felts its wings become heavier. It flapped harder, but no matter what it did, it began to fall. It realized that it had gotten very cold very fast, just before it hit the ground.

"No!" one of the punks yelled as his zubat collapsed into a pile of snow. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. "That was my last pokemon."

"Don't worry," the raspy trainer said. "Sandshrew will wipe the floor with that runt, right?"

"Sand…" the sandshrew muttered, not even seeing his comrade get attacked. He glanced around warily, waiting for the same to happen to him.

"Behind you!" The raspy one yelled, sent into a fit of coughing afterwards. It seemed as if his voice wasn't being faked. The sandshrew curled into a ball just as Berri attempted to bite down on him. His jaws closed on what felt like a chunk of metal, but the snow pokemon had spent most of its life eating ice. It tightened its grip, not piercing the sandshrew's skin but definitely bruising it. He shook his head back and forth and flung the sandshrew away, slamming it into a tree. "No!" the raspy voice thug cried, ignoring the pain it caused him to raise his voice that much. His worried expression was changed to relief as the sandshrew got up, looking a little worse for wear but still standing. With a quick glance to its trainer, it began to dig into the ground at incredible speeds, quickly disappearing from sight. "Yea, that's the way, hit him from below!"

Berri rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to let loose another wave of snow, coating a large area around him with it. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on feeling the snow, waiting for any vibration that would indicate the attack…

There! No, it was still moving. It was circling, like it was searching for a weak point. Now! Berri jumped as the ground broke open directly under him, the sandshrew swiping at air. Scowling, it dug back into the earth, Berri not being able to catch it in time.

"There you go sandshrew, wait it out." The second thug said, who had at this point returned his zubat to his pokeball and was standing guard over the growlithe.

Berri waited patiently, leaping out of range whenever he felt the burrowing pokemon about to emerge. But, because of that, he was never able to get back down in time to land an attack.

Raven stepped away from the police officer, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, who had just been about to make a dash for the growlithe. "Not now."

She looked at him in despair, glancing back toward the fighting pokemon. Neither of them were making any noticeable headway, but perhaps that was his plan. "Are you trying to wait them out for the other police officers?" she asked, watching as Berri darted away as the sandshrew attacked again.

"Hmm?" Raven said, looking over his shoulder at Berri. "Oh, no. He's waiting him out for me to do something."

"For you to do something?" she asked.

"Mhm." Raven said, taking a few steps toward the thugs. They only noticed him when he was a few yards away from them, jumping around the cage defensively.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Don't take another step!" The raspy voice threatened.

"Or what?" Raven said, not slowing down in the slightest.

"Or… um…"He looked down at the growlithe, his initial thought being to hurt the pokemon, but realizing that hurting what they had done so much just to get their hands on would be a bit of a setback. "Um… Sandshrew! Get him!"

At first, nothing happened. Raven slowed to a stop, watching the ground expectantly. He took a step to the left, just as the pokemon burst from the dirt to his right. It swiped at air once more, a little more than annoyed by this point, but unable to linger on the thought as Berri rammed into his gut, sending him flipping out of his hole and into his trainer's chest. The thug stumbled and made to catch his pokemon, but only ended up falling alongside it. They crashed to the ground, groaning. "Aw, man, sandshrew, you-"

His voice caught in his throat as Raven appeared in front of him, cold anger emanating from his eyes. He tried to inch away, only for the boy to stomp on his foot.

"Aaaaugh!" He cried, looking to his friend for help, only to find him confronted with the snorunt. He was staring at it warily, unsure if he should try to run. Berri glared at him, fear and a little ice gluing his feet to the ground.

"So," Raven said calmly, pressing down with his foot, "what were you going to do with this growlithe?"

"What does it matter to you?!" The thug yelled, only for Raven to stomp again on his foot. He tried to swing his other leg to knock the boy's feet out from under him, only for him to jump over it effortlessly, his foot coming back down on the thug's shin. "AHH! Sonofa- Alright! Fine! We were trying to use it to get into Team Rocket, ok?"

"Team Rocket?" Raven said, the curiosity in his voice only a side note compared to the anger. "Is that their initiation?"

"Yea!" the other thug said, weakly attempting to regain his deep voice impression. At a glance from Raven, he bit his lip, rethinking what he had said. "Well… no, not really. We were hoping to get higher positions if we brought in a rare pokemon."

"They like to collect them and sell them off, so we thought it would be a ticket to officer positions or something," the raspy voiced one said.

"You're pathetic." Raven said bluntly, causing both of the punks to flinch. "I don't even know who these Team Rocket people are, but if this is what would get you into their ranks, they deserve to be destroyed." With another stomp for good measure, Raven stepped away from the thug, picking up the cage with the growlithe in it, softly reassuring it with his voice. He started walking back to Jenny and the girl, looking at the cage for some kind of latch. The two thugs looked at each other, both thinking that if they couldn't get away with the growlithe, at least they could get away. They started to run in the opposite direction when they heard Raven say something. "Powder snow."

All at once they felt their limbs going cold, feeling much heavier thanks to the snow that was quickly coating them. Once they were slowed to a crawl, Berri relented, spitting out just one more blast of snow for good measure. He quickly followed behind Raven, leaving the two thieves to chill.

"How long until your support gets here?" Raven asked, setting down the cage and kneeling beside it.

"It should only be a few more minutes," Jenny said. Raven found the crude latch on one side of the cage, almost ripping off the door as he swung it open. The growlithe flinched, moving up against the back of the cage as it whimpered. Raven's demeanor reversed instantly, his expression soft and caring as he held a hand out to the puppy pokemon, slowly beckoning it out. While it did relax slightly, it made no move to get closer to him. Smiling lightly, Raven reached into his pouch, pulling out a small plastic baggie that had several berries in it. The growlithe perked up at that, licking its lips. It took a step closer before remembering she didn't trust him, and backing away again. Raven pulled one of the berries out, holding it towards the puppy. "Come on girl… it's ok…"

"How do you know that it's a girl?" the girl asked, unwilling to come closer less she scare the pokemon more than it was.

Raven shrugged. "Just do."

Jenny noticed with interest that the berry he was holding was a sitris berry, native to Hoenn. Which made sense, as snorunts were also native there, but this just confirmed it. This boy was obviously from Hoenn, and recently too, or else she likely would have seen him before. But then, why didn't she see him when the boat docked..?

The growlithe finally began moving towards Raven, sniffing cautiously. Satisfied, she stuck her tongue out and lapped at the berry. Licking her lips, she took it out of his hands, munching on it happily. Smiling, Raven ran his hand through the tuft of fur on her head, scratching her behind her ears. "That's a good girl…"

"Wow, she took to you fast," the girl said, stepping closer. Immediately the growlithe backed up, running into the back of the cage. She stopped, backing up sadly. "Guess it's just you, then."

Raven shrugged again, noting happily that the growlithe came back out to him once the girl had left. "Guess so." He pulled another berry out of his pouch, feeding it to the slowly relaxing pokemon.

Berri hopped up onto Raven's lap, startling her. She dropped the berry in her mouth, crouching down but not backing away. Raven laughed, picking up the berry and offering it to her again. "Sno, snorunt snorunt, sno, runt," Berri said, his previous demeanor gone just as quickly as Raven's was.

The growlithe hesitated before responding. Her response came in a series of growls and yips, Berri nodding and patting her on the back. She took the berry again, eating it happily once more.

"You and your pokemon? That's just not fair," the girl said, bemoaning her inability to get close to the growlithe.

"Berri and I have had some… personal experiences with kidnapping." Raven said, stroking the growlithe's fur. "I suppose we can relate to it better."

"I suppose so…" the girl said, still not entirely reassured but curious all the same.

Just then, several voices started coming from the direction of town, quickly growing louder. Raven patted the growlithe reassuringly, glancing at the trees. "Guess that's them."

"Yes, they should be here within another minute." Jenny said, glancing at the two thugs. They hadn't gotten far from their earlier position, now resigned to huddling on the ground and shivering.

"Then that's my cue to leave." Raven stood up, brushing off his pants and helping Berri onto his shoulder. He patted the growlithe one last time before starting for the edge of the circle of trees.

"Wait, what?" Jenny said, taken aback. "You need to stay, we need to report this!"

"No," Raven said simply, reaching the edge of the forest and turning back, noting the confused look on the growlithe's face with sadness. He sighed, thinking of the empty pokeballs in his bag. He really had no right to try to claim a pokemon he had just freed, anyways. "See you."

"Wait!" Jenny cried fruitlessly as he entered the trees, quickly sprinting out of sight. Her hand fell to her side, not quite knowing how to react.

"Who _is_ he?" the girl said, looking at the growlithe. She was obviously distraught, whining softly as she looked at the spot where her savior had vanished.

"I don't know," Jenny admitted. She looked at the puppy pokemon, sighing as she stood up. "Well, at least we can be sure that this growlithe is safe-" As soon as she spoke, the growlithe barked, dashing into the trees. She threw her hands up in frustration just as several other police officers burst through the trees on the opposite side of the clearing.

"Well, what a day this has turned out to be…" the girl said, wondering when she'd get back to the pokemon center for her pokemon…


	4. Those Puppy Eyes

Raven rested his head in a nook on the branch he was leaning against. His fingers were laced with each other, sitting in his lap. He had put his gloves back on for climbing, but there was a small cut on his left thumb where a stray branch had caught it. Berri sat on his head, amusing himself by tying knots in the boy's hair. Raven noticed, but he just shrugged it off.

He was sitting fairly high up in a majestic oak tree, where the branches had started to turn and twist in various directions, more often than not creating rather comfortable places to sit. The tree's trunk shot up out of the ground for at least seven feet with no growths, the branches only jutting out at around eight feet. The leaves were dark green and thick, both shading him and assuring him that he wouldn't be seen.

He could hear the police rustling through the forest from what seemed like all directions at once. They might have actually been all around him, or it might have been his ears playing tricks on him. Occasionally he saw the classic blue uniform rushing past the gaps in the leaves, but not too often. They were most likely looking for him, if what Jenny had said was anything to go by. All he had to do was wait them out. He leaned forward, making Berri wobble dangerously on his head, holding onto his hair for support."Ow ow, hey now," Raven said, grabbing the snorunt and setting him in his lap. "I think that's enough."

Berri grinned, shivering as he always did. "Sno, snorunt!" After a moment's pause, he looked around curiously. "Snorunt?"

"Nah, it shouldn't be too much longer," Raven said, following the pokemon's gaze. "To be honest, though, I'm surprised it's been this long. I expected them to think I left the forest…"

Not a moment after he finished his thought, he heard a very distinct whine. Furrowing his brows, he looked down alongside the oak's trunk. There, he saw a very sad looking growlithe holding her paw up pleadingly at the tree's base, looking at him with a face only a true puppy could make.

"You?" Raven asked, his mind racing. The police must be searching for the growlithe, not him. "You ran away, huh?"

The growlithe pulled her paw back, sitting on her haunches. She whined again, Raven finding himself wanting to do anything to make her happy. He was snapped out of his reverie by the shouts of the police officers, several sounding like they were close. Thinking quickly, he looked around the ground, seeing little more than dead leaves and roots. Several of the tree's roots had overgrown, sticking out of the ground and creating small hovels underneath them. He pointed toward one of the bigger ones. "Quick, hide there!"

He repeated himself with a little more urgency when the puppy didn't respond, just looking up at him desolately. Berri stood up, Raven backing off slightly so he could stand. "Sno, snorunt!"

The growlithe's eyes widened, suddenly looking afraid. She dove into the small crevice, squeezing herself inside just as Raven heard one officer stumble over a bush and swear quite audibly.

"Aw, damnit. I just cleaned my uniform…" He heard a masculine yet not quite mature voice say.

"Not like it helped any," a feminine voice said. The taunting expression was evident without even seeing her. Raven frowned, trying to peer through the leaves at the duo.

"Oh, shut it," the boy responded. Raven heard him brush himself off and assumed he was looking around. "I wonder if anyone else has found them yet."

"Doubtful. Most of the officers are as clumsy as you," the girl said. Raven rolled his eyes, not liking this particular individual. His train of negative thoughts ended prematurely, interrupted by static crackling out from a radio.

"All officers report to the rendezvous outside the forest." With a click, the static vanished as soon as it appeared.

He heard a sigh of relief coming from the girl. "Finally. What a waste of time that was."

The boy grumbled but didn't respond. The two headed off in the direction they came, the crunching of leaves under their shoes fading off into the distance.

Raven waited patiently for another minute after the sounds disappeared before moving. He picked Berri up, setting him on a branch beside him. Pushing himself out of his sitting position, he grabbed a branch that extended out to his right. He used it to swing back up slightly, letting go and landing with a thud, hunched over. Standing up straight, he groaned as his back made a few unpleasant sounds. Stretching his arms, he rotated his shoulders and took in a deep breath. He turned back toward the tree, holding his hands out for Berri. The snorunt wasted no time, hopping out into Raven's open arms. Raven swiftly placed him on the ground, crouching down beside him and looking toward the base of the tree. The growlithe peered out at them, her eyes asking if it was safe.

Raven held out a hand, beckoning her toward him. "Come on, you can come out now." She looked around, and began to crawl out before her eyes landed on Berri. She hesitated, moving her paw as if she was about to creep back in.

Raven tilted his head to the side, glancing at Berri. He wasn't giving the most encouraging of looks. Raven nudged him. "Hey, be nice. Just because you hate fire…" He turned back to the growlithe, beckoning her again. "Come on out, he won't hurt ya."

Nervously, she inched out of her hovel, coming up to Raven's open hand. Expecting her to sniff him, he was surprised when she pushed her head into his hand, rubbing her fur against it. Smiling, he scratched her ears. "Atta' girl… why didn't you stay with the police?"

Pulling her head away, she whined again. Raven shrugged, not as used to her as Berri. "Well, I don't know why you'd want to follow me. Don't you want to be free?"

She let out a series of grunts and whines, the pleading expression returning to her face. Berri sighed. "Sno, snorunt sno sno."

"Hmm?" Raven asked, turning to him. "But…" He looked at the puppy pokemon, unable to resist that face. "Oh… fine. You can come with me."

Her face brightened up considerably as she hopped into his lap lapping at his face. He laughed; her warm fur was a stark contrast to Berri's cold cloak. "Hey, hey, calm down!" He rubbed his hand over her head, the puppy reacting by nipping at his fingers. He laughed again, pulling his fingers out of reach.

He could feel his side growing colder, glancing down at Berri, who did _not_ look happy. "Oh, come on, you can't say she's not cute, she's a puppy!"

"Sno," he said simply, turning away. The growlithe's ears drooped, looking down at the ground. Raven propped her chin up on his finger, grinning.

"If you're gonna come with me, you can't be sad, alright? There are too many happy things in life to be sad!" The puppy glanced up at him innocently. He shrugged. "I'll take that as a yes. And, hey, Berri."

The snorunt turned slightly, still looked rather miffed. Raven pulled him closer, giving him a hug and ignoring the rather odd feeling of his lap being almost uncomfortably warm and his side rather chilly. "Don't worry, having another companion will be fun. And she's a girl; maybe you'll even come to like her!"

Berri looked at him incredulously. He shook himself, dropping the temperature yet again. Raven grinned, rubbing his knuckles against the cloak. "Just you wait." He picked up the growlithe, setting her down beside him. Standing up, he glanced around, placing a hand on the tree's trunk. "Now… how do we get out of here?"

He glanced down, noticing the growlithe chewing on his jeans. Berri was already walking away, in the direction the two cops left. He rolled his eyes, smiling. "Lots of fun."

...

He walked out of the forest casually, as if he had just taken a stroll. Berri had grudgingly agreed to be carried again (mostly due to laziness) and was sitting on his shoulder. The growlithe was walking alongside him, sticking as close as she could without tripping him. Not that he didn't find himself stumbling over red fur every few steps. Even though he had followed what he assumed to have been the officer's trail, he hadn't seen them outside the forest. Maybe they had given up? It seemed unlikely, but the police in Kanto might be run differently than in Hoenn. Though, there wasn't much pokemon theft in Hoenn…

He stumbled, his leg caught by something. Berri groaned as he almost fell off again, though being used to it by now. Raven grinned at the puppy pokemon, who had started chewing on his pants leg again. "You know, I think I have a name for you now." The puppy glanced up at him, not letting go of his pants. "Chewie. How does that sound?" She just tugged on his pants again, growling cutely. He laughed, jerking his leg away only for her to dash after it. "Yup. That'll do nicely."

As he walked along the same street he had originally walked down, he didn't notice anything different about the neighborhood. The kids he had seen earlier weren't there, but there was the occasional pedestrian. The sun was just about setting now, and he realized just how much had happened since he woke up that afternoon. He glanced down at the newly dubbed Chewie, who was trotting alongside him merrily, having lost interest in his jeans for the time being. He didn't expect to pick up any new pokemon in Kanto, let alone one on the day he arrived there. And while he half-wished she would decide to be free and live out her life, half of him wanted to keep her. He thought again of the empty pokeballs in his bag, shaking his head. He'd let it play itself out.

As he neared the pokemon center, he could tell that something was going on there. He could see several police officers standing outside, many of them looking identical to Officer Jenny while others stood out. He groaned. "Man… looks like we have to leave town already. I was looking forward to a bed…"

"Hey!"

He turned, spotting the girl from earlier waving at him. She started toward him, and he took a step back, wondering if it was a good idea to talk to her again when he remembered he owed her a few apologies. He stood still, smiling at her. "Hi there."

"Why'd you run off?" she asked, gesturing toward the cops. "They've been looking for you since then!"

"I don't trust cops," he said, ignoring her questioning look. "Hey, I wanted to apologize for being so harsh earlier, I got a bit angry with the whole situation…"

She held up her hands, smiling. "No no, I understand. I'm guessing you've had something similar happen in the past?"

"Um, yea. Something like that," he said evasively, not really wanting to get into that subject.

She just then noticed Chewie at his feet, gasping. "So she was with you!"

"Hmm?" Raven mumbled, looking down. "Oh, Chewie. Yea, she followed me."

"Chewie? Why'd you name her that?" the girl asked, trying to reach out for the pokemon only for her to edge away.

"Because she's been chewing on my pant leg every time I've stopped moving," Raven said, looking down to find that she was not, in fact, doing what he predicted. Instead, she was huddled up against his leg, looking at the police and whining softly. "Huh. Guess she doesn't like cops either… do you know how long they'll be there?" he asked, turning to the girl again.

"The police?" she asked, looking at them. "Probably for a while, they want to talk to you and I told them where I met you. I'm sure they're expecting you to go back to your room."

"Oh." Raven said, his hopes for a bed dashed again. He shrugged. "Well, guess that means we're leaving town early Berri."

"Snorunt, sno snorunt," he said with a huff. He'd like a bed too.

"Wait, what? You aren't going to go talk to them?" The girl said with a confused expression.

"No," Raven said bluntly. "If I didn't want to earlier, why would I want to now? I carry all of my stuff with me in my bag, so I'll just head out. Speaking of stuff…" he said, reaching into his bag and pulling out his room key. He tossed it to her, saying, "Mind giving that back for me?" He turned away, starting to walk back down the road.

The girl grabbed at the keys, fumbling with them for a bit before actually catching them. "Wait!"

Raven paused, looking over his shoulder. "I'm not going to talk to them, you know."

She laughed, pointing down another road. "Unless you wanted to go through the forest again, the road to Saffron city is this way."

Raven grinned, turning toward her. "What's your name?"

"My name?" She repeated, surprised. "Alisha. Why?"

"Alisha, huh. I hope to see you again sometime," he said casually, putting his hands in his pockets and walking past her with Chewie tailing close behind.

She looked back at him, seeing Berri to be peering at her from behind his cloak. He waved, his little arm making her giggle. She waved back, the snow hat pokemon nodding and turning around, sitting down comfortably on the boy's shoulder. Smiling, she turned to walk over to the pokemon center, rubbing the two pokeballs on her hip absent-mindedly.

As he furthered himself from the girl, Raven sighed. "Thanks buddy."

"Sno." Berri tuned off his false smile, folding his arms and turning to the side.

"Yea, but she doesn't know that," Raven reasoned, bending down slightly to scratch Chewie's ears. "And I don't want that changing anything for Chewie. She had nothing to do with that, and she feels like she can trust us. I don't want to hurt that."

"S…sno..runt…" Berri admitted, letting his shoulders droop. He had been kind of a jerk.

"Good." Raven brought his hands in front of him, cracking his knuckles. "So I guess we're headed to Saffron City?" Berri nodded. "Eh, I'm not a fan of big cities. It was bad enough going through Lilycove to hitch a ride here. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look around. Maybe there'll be a tournament or something we can get some money from."

Berri bobbed and shook excitedly. He hadn't fought like he had against the sandshrew for a long time, and he wanted more of it.

Chewie looked up at the two boys curiously, only vaguely understanding what they were talking about. "Rrr?"

"Hmm?" Raven glanced down at the puppy pokemon. "Oh, do you want to fight too?"

"Rrr?" She repeated, cocking her head to the side.

Raven paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Actually, it'd be nice to know what you can do so I don't throw you into something way over your head. What do you say Berri? Want to do some training?"

Berri shrugged. "Snorunt."

"Yes, you have to," Raven joked. "No, if you don't want to I can just see what attacks she has."

"..sno?"

"Let's head out of town a ways before we do anything." Raven looked around, remembering that the police were looking for him. "Just think about it, alright?" He started off again, heading down the road to Saffron City.

Chewie stumbled as she took off after Raven, panting little puffs of steam happily.


	5. No Officer, I Never

Light whispers of wind crept through the trees, rustling their limbs as it passed by. It had no destination in mind, mindlessly slipping around leaves and bark as it surveyed the forest. With most pokemon embracing the night with sleep, there wasn't much to see. A few caterpie sat contently on a tree, some snoring as they slept. A nest of kakunas sat silently within a tree, waiting for when they could hatch. A pigeot, back from a late night's flight, settled onto her nest, keeping the eggs beneath her warm through the night. The trees ended, giving sight to a small road, heading off left and right beyond sight. With a sudden burst of speed thanks to the last of obstacles, the wind rushed to the opposite side of the road, where more trees stood, although not as thick. There was even less to see here, wind whipping through countless trees without even noticing. There. It was a human, laying in the crevice of a large tree. Two pokemon slept on either side of him, while he looked up at the stars. With that split second glance, the wind continued, mindlessly as ever.

Raven closed his eyes as the wind rippled through his hair. Just a breeze. The air settled soon after it had passed, reassuring him that they were safe. He let out the breath he had been holding. Opening his eyes, he pulled his head slightly off of the tree. He couldn't let himself fall asleep. Not here. It was too risky. Normally he'd be right alongside Berri and snoring the night away, but he was still too close to the city to feel secure. He wasn't sure how far or how long the police would chase him, but he didn't want to take any chances. He rubbed Berri's cloak and scratched behind Chewie's ear, smiling slightly. They were both sleeping so soundly…

He went over his escape plan again in his head. If there was danger, he'd have to put both Berri and Chewie in pokeballs. The latter of which would be difficult, not having actually caught Chewie yet. He would make a dash for whatever clearing in the trees was open, and…

He leaned back against the tree, admiring the stars. Of all the sights to see in the world, he would never get tired of stars. There was always a new pattern to see, a falling star to spot, a twinkle to catch his eye. He had long ago forgotten what actual constellations there were in favor of his own; they were much more tasteful, anyways. After all, who else would put a wurmple up in the sky? Or there, he could make out a chinchou. He grinned as another gust of wind went by him, his worries fading into the endless sky.

…

Berri squeezed his eyes shut, his body feeling far too tired for morning to have come yet. He stretched, opening his eyes a crack before shutting them again. He turned away from the bright light he had seen, the splotches of color visible even with his eyes closed. He could feel Raven beside him still, so it wasn't too late in the day. "_Pity that._"

"Oh, you're up?" Raven asked, patting him on the back. Berri groaned and rubbed his face into Raven's shirt. He laughed, "Oh, I know. I don't want to be either. But we might as well get a move on. Chewie's more than eager already."

"_Ugh…_"

Chewie was yipping happily as she chased her tail in the middle of the clearing, a few feet away from Raven and Berri. She spun in circles several times before pausing, waiting until she thought her tail was unsuspecting and unaware. She made to pounce again, only managing to land her paws on some dirt. She looked surprised that her target had vanished.

She lost interest as she felt his hand on her head. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she panted, looking up at her new friend. He smiled at her, rubbing her fur. "Sleep well girl?" Not really understanding him, she barked happily. Raven laughed. "Glad to hear it. Before we head out though, I wanted to see what you could do. Sound good?" She barked again.

Taking that for a yes, Raven patted her on the head. "Alrighty then. Hey, Berri?.." He turned when there was no response, smiling when he saw that the snorunt had fallen back asleep. Shrugging, he turned back to Chewie. "Well, I'll let him sleep some more. He had a bit of an exciting day yesterday… and so did you, come to think of it." Raven scratched the growlithe behind the ears, considering holding off her training. When she started trying to chew on his hand, he grinned. She was fine.

"Alright, Chewie. See my hand?" He held his hand out in front of her, palm facing her. She stared at it, not sure what she was supposed to be doing. "Try to tackle it."

He waited for several seconds while she stared at his hand. When she finally did move, she took a step close and tried to chew on his fingers. He rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away from her sharp puppy teeth. "I guess I should have expected that."

"Sno, snorunt, sno…" Berri said, looking as tired as he sounded as he walked up to Raven, leaning against him.

The boy laughed, patting Berri on the head. "Hey, if you're that tired, you can always sleep in the pokeball."

Berri immediately straightened up, shivering in disagreement. Chewie looked from one to the other, not really knowing what they were talking about. Raven shrugged, standing up straight. "Suit yourself. I guess we'll get going then, we can train later."

He picked Berri up, propping him on his shoulder as he patted the side of his thigh, a trick he learned the previous night that got Chewie to follow him most of the time. She was easily distracted, but it helped. She hopped up and down as he started off, heading back to the trail that led to Saffron City.

He had taken two steps on the road. There had been no one there before. He couldn't find a way around it. He sighed, giving up hope of ever knowing how the trainer had appeared in front of him. He looked friendly enough, a bit like a boy scout, yet he grinned at Raven with confidence rivaling those of gym trainers. "Hey! Wanna battle?"

Raven shrugged, giving Berri a push as he hopped off his shoulder to the ground. "Sure, why not?" He took a few steps back, patting his thigh to get Chewie to follow him. Berri rolled his head around, his grogginess having left to make room for excitement.

The boy scout perked up, reaching for his belt, which Raven noticed had two pokeballs on it. He nodded. Most people took their time collecting six pokemon to carry with them if they ever got that many. Pulling the first one off, the boy threw it at the ground. "Alright then! Go, rattata!"

After a brief flash of red light, a fierce looking rattata emerged from the pokeball. Raven hooked his thumbs into his pockets, balancing on one leg as he nodded to himself. It may not have been evolved, but this pokemon looked far more experienced than Mike's raticate. "Berri, you ready?"

"Sno!" the snorunt called, small ice crystals forming and falling around him as he waited in anticipation.

"Good, use powder snow!"

Berri opened his mouth, sucking in air. The other trainer pointed his finger out to the left, shouting "Dodge it!"

Just as Berri exhaled, blowing a mass of snow out, the rattata rolled to the side, landing on his feet and dashing towards the snorunt. "Quick attack!" The rattata slammed into Berri's side, cutting off the powder snow attack and sending Berri off the road, kicking up a cloud of dust as he landed.

Chewie yipped, moving to go to Berri. Raven knelt beside her, stroking her back a little forcefully. "It's ok girl, he's fine." She whined, sitting down as she watched anxiously.

Berri leapt out of the dust, flying into the air. He didn't look hurt at all, not even angry. He was grinning as he landed, dashing off to his left. Raven shrugged. There wasn't much point in trying to tell him what to do when he got like this.

Berri flew around the rattata, faster than one would think he could move. The rat pokemon twisted his head, getting a little dizzy trying to follow him.

The boy scout fell back slightly, his face contorted in thought. He snapped his fingers, face lighting up. "Tail whip!" The rattata spun around, forcing Berri to jump back to avoid being smacked by the curly tail.

"Headbutt!" Raven said. As soon as Berri's feet hit the ground, he sprung toward the rattata, ramming the top of his head into the pokemon's side. The mouse pokemon tumbled back, rolling across the road. Berri flipped, landing on his feet once more, using his momentum to jump again. He turned downward, falling down directly on the rattata in another headbutt. A small cloud of dust puffed up around them as Berri rammed his opponent into the ground.

"No!" The boy cried, clenching his fist.

Raven glanced down, stroking Chewie again. She whimpered, turning away as she rubbed up against his leg. He frowned slightly in thought, looking back up at the two combatants.

Berri had rolled off of the rattata, turning from side to side in what Raven knew was a stretch. The mouse pokemon wasn't moving, but he knew Berri wouldn't have seriously injured him.

The boy scout rushed forward, kneeling beside his pokemon. He sighed in relief when he realized that it had only been knocked out. "Good job, buddy," he said as he pulled out his pokeball, returning the rattata to its interior. He stood up, looking from Raven to Berri. "He's a really good fighter… I don't know if my second pokemon would even stand a chance."

Raven shrugged. "You can send him out if you want to, but you're right about Berri. He might love being chill, but he gets so worked up over battling it's hard for him to hold back."

The boy nodded, rubbing his second pokeball thoughtfully. He shook his head. "I can't. As much as I hate to say it, I forfeit. I need to train more before I can take you on… and I can't go back to Vermillion with both of my pokemon knocked out."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You can't? Why not?"

He waved his hand toward the trees irritably. "It's the thugs that have been hoarding in these woods lately. I need at least one pokemon able to fight if they jump me."

Raven slowly looked toward the ground, scratching Chewie absent-mindedly. "Yea… better safe than sorry."

The boy scout nodded. "Yup. Do you come around these parts often?"

Raven shook his head. "Nah, I was just passing through. I might stop by again on my way home though."

The boy's face broke into a wide smile. "You should! That way, we can battle again! We'll be much stronger then."

Raven stood up, patting his thigh just to make sure Chewie didn't wander off while he wasn't looking. "I'm sure of it." He grinned, holding out his hand. "I'm Raven."

"Josh," he said, taking the offer with a firm grip. They shook hands, Josh waving slightly as he began walking down the road to Vermillion. "See you later!"

"Yea, for sure." Raven said, walking over to Berri, whose sleepy demeanor had returned once the heat of battle had worn off. "Ready to get going?"

Berri held his arms out, not even opening his eyes in response. Raven rolled his eyes, picking the snorunt up and setting him on his shoulder. "Jeeze, it's like you have an on and off switch. Chewie, let's go."

She barked, hopping over to nip at his pants leg, just missing as he started to walk. She entertained herself by chasing his legs as he made his way for Saffron City.

Which, as it turned out, wasn't that far from where they were. He wasn't sure if he had covered more ground that he had thought the night before, or Saffron and Vermillion really weren't that far apart. He had only walked for maybe another twenty minutes before the gates to Saffron City had come into view.

"Huh. It looks as big as Lilycove," Raven mused as he neared the city gates. Berri was uninterested, if only because he hadn't opened his eyes to look. Chewie didn't actually notice the city yet, due to her determination to teach those pant cuffs a lesson. There wasn't much to see as of yet save a few buildings that stood as tall as mountains, but from this distance it was hard to say if they were any different than average skyscrapers. As he looked down, he noticed that the building where he assumed the city limits were seemed… odd. Almost as if it were… moving.

Well, the building itself wasn't moving. There was just a crowd of people in front of it, all shifting around in varying manners. He cocked his head, slowing down a little. Crowds were never his kind of thing, and the fact that he might still have cops looking for him made him a little wary. None of them had the classic blue that he could see, though…

Berri, noticing his change of pace, opened his eyes, noticing the city for the first time. He grumbled softly, about to close them again when he, too, noticed the crowd. "Sno?"

"I don't know," Raven said quietly. He was coming up on the crowd now, able to make out individual people. They looked like they had no sort of pattern, with kids to elderly folk to what looked like pokemon trainers. Every now and then he saw a pokemon between the legs of the people, but not long enough to see what type they were. As he got closer, he could hear the clamor of voices, but all of them were jumbled together to the point of just making it noise.

No one took notice of him when he approached, letting him relax slightly. They would pay more attention if they were looking for someone. There were several families around him, and among them were stand-alone trainers. There seemed to be a lot more than he had seen at first, but maybe he wasn't looking very hard.

He approached the nearest person, a middle aged woman surrounded by three energetic kids. She somehow kept a hand at all of them at all times, something Raven didn't want to try to figure out. "Excuse me?"

She glanced up at him, smiling sweetly while keeping an iron grip on her kids. "Yes?"

Raven waved a hand at the crowd, shrugging. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, you don't know?" She asked, giving him a look that made him think he was one of her screaming tots too. "It's the battle tournament! The fighting dojo holds one every other month or so, and people come from all around to participate with their pokemon or just to watch."

Berri perked up at 'tournament', not quite hearing anything else. Raven, on the other hand, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Fighting tournament? You don't say… why is it so crowded here then? Why aren't all of these people inside?"

The woman rolled her eyes, jerking a thumb toward the building. "The security at these gates is always poor, the guards are incredibly stubborn about letting people in one at a time. Not that it really matters though. Most trainers wait outside the gates to check out any competition anyways."

"Ahh…" Raven nodded, scanning around him quickly. Now that she mentioned it, he did notice several other trainers eyeing him and his pokemon. He shrugged. "Well, if they're looking for their competition, I'm not a part of it."

Berri stood up indignantly, looking at Raven with a cross look. "Sno, snorunt!"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You heard her, didn't you? It's a _fighting_ tournament. Fighting type pokemon would rip you apart. And just think; most of them probably know fire punch."

The snow hat pokemon cringed at the name of his least-favorite attack, but shook his head stubbornly. "Snorunt, sno sno snorunt!"

Raven rolled his eyes, ignoring him for the moment. He turned back to the woman, who had just been watching their banter with amusement. "Thank you for your help, mam."

Her eyes widened slightly, but returned to her cheery demeanor quickly after. "My pleasure sweetie. Good luck if you do end up competing!"

"Thanks." Raven walked away, not wanting to stay in one spot for too long. He was starting to get uncomfortable with all the looks he was getting from the different trainers. He thought about putting Chewie in a pokeball, but she seemed content to stay by his leg at the moment, and he didn't want to go there unless it was necessary. Berri, on the other hand, had folded his arms and turned the other way. "Oh, come off it. You know it would be a bad idea." Berri simply chilled the air around him, making Raven's shoulder go numb. More than used to it, he simply ignored it as he made his way through the crowd. If most of the people there were just watching people, he should be able to get in.

He found the area immediately around the door to be cleared, much to his relief. He opened it, seeing nothing but a small corridor inside with desks on either side. A man stood on the right side, looking more irritable than he had ever seen anyone at a desk job. Confused at the strange interior design choices, he closed the door behind him, a little surprised at the sudden lack of noise. All that was left of it was a slightly muffled roar.

Who he assumed was the guard eyed him impatiently, beckoning him over when he didn't move for a second. "Well, come on, I ain't got all day."

Raven furrowed his brows, thinking he should have just gone around it. He walked up to where the guard stood, placing his hands on the desk. "So, what do you need for me to pass?"

The guard shook his head, looking him up and down. "Nothin'. I jus' need to check and make sure you ain't a criminal. I was told this mornin' tat a kid comin' from Vermillion was to be taken to da police, but they didn' really give me a description. You know what a "Snorunt" is?"

Thinking quickly, Raven shook his head. "No, why? Is that a pokemon?"

The guard nodded, shrugging. "Yea, they said he had a Snorunt with him, but I dunno what it is either. I guess if you don't know, you can go. So get outta here." He jerked his thumb at the door opposite the one Raven entered from, finished with their conversation.

Raven rolled his eyes, heading for the door. Some people were just a little too dense. Berri looked at his curiously, but he just shook his head. As soon as he had left the building, he sighed. "I wonder how long that will chase me for…"

The city spanning before him was a little less majestic than he had imagined. It was smaller than Lilycove, to be sure, but without the beautiful backdrop of the ocean accompanying it, it was little more than an industrialized city. The skyscrapers he had seen were all clustered in the center of the city, surrounded by nondescript houses and other smaller buildings. He began walking left, figuring he'd find the pokemon center eventually. "Maybe I'll actually get to sleep in peace today…"


	6. Battle of Champions

"…_where you come from? Why you come? I like that I met you. You and him are nice. Nice nice…"_

"_Will you shut up? I'm trying to watch."_

"_Why you want to watch? Its mean… you mean before. Not to me, someone else. You go 'Whoomph! Bam!' and he fall down. Not nice!"_

"_I suppose not… but, oh, shut it. It's exciting to watch."_

"_But-"_

"_Stop."_

"_Hmmph. Meanie."_

….….

Raven watched from a slightly elevated platform in the corner of the building, leaning against the wall. It wasn't the greatest view, but at least he wasn't smashed up in the crowd in front. It looked uncomfortably hot and sweaty, more so than the actual fighters. He even had a little breathing room, due to the fact that the other spectators were giving him a strangely wide berth. He shrugged it off as good luck. Berri was sitting on his head, almost pulling on his hair with how focused he was on the match while he held Chewie in his arms. They had only recently stopped babbling on about something, but Raven didn't mind either way. Both of the competing trainers had microphones wrapped around their heads to make their voices heard over the cheering, so he could always hear them.

Currently on the stage were two rookie trainers, one almost looking like the boy scout from the other day. He was using a mankey, while his opponent, just an average trainer with the generic gear, was using a machop. Raven could tell they were rookies by the hesitance in their commands, their choices of attacks, and even by their stance. The boy scout was far too tense, his hands clenched so tightly they could have drawn blood, while the other trainer was far too laid back. He reeked of arrogance of a reputation he didn't have. Especially now, when his chances of winning were as slim as they were.

"Mankey! Double-edge!" the boy scout cried. The mankey twirled in the air to land on his feet from a previous tackle, launching off with only a moment to rebalance himself. The machop, fairly bruised at this point, pushed off on one foot to dance out of the way. Raven winced, seeing how much pain the simple movement caused. Even though his trainer appeared to not care, machop in general tended to over-exert themselves to the point of near death exhaustion. This one still had a ways to go, but any caring trainer would stop it long before that…

"Leer." The other trainer almost looked aloof as he called the attack. The machop grunted in reply, glaring at the mankey with as much intimidation as he could muster. His eyes flashed, and the mankey stopped its charge, the fear on its face out of place for such an aggressive pokemon.

"Mankey! Snap out of it!" The boy scout called out, but it was to no avail. His pokemon was all but lost under the glare of the machop.

The spell was broken in a flash as the machop quivered, falling to one knee. His fist crashed into the ground, creating small cracks but only just able to support himself. The mankey shook himself, launching off to finish what it had started.

Raven felt Chewie whimper in his arms as the two pokemon collided, the machop flying off into the corner of the arena. He landed painfully on his side, rolling to the edge of the platform. He pushed against the ground with both arms, his left quivering under his own weight. His trainer carelessly threw out another command. "Reversal."

Raven's eyes widened. If the machop used reversal while that badly beaten, it would easily KO the mankey. Normally a last stand move, Raven realized that the generic trainer had let the match be so one sided the entire time on purpose, just to use it. It was a horrible tactic used only by trainers who don't care about their pokemon. It must have been the reason behind the trainer's smug expression. Now that he had called his ace card, he was even worse, smirking as if he had already won. The boy scout didn't seem to pick up on the plan as quickly, nodding at his mankey. Raven shook his head, slowly, so Berri wouldn't fall off.

The machop slowly stood, taking a fighting pose as he readied his attack. He lunged forward, reaching out to grab his opponent when he fell to the ground on his face, unmoving. The generic trainer jumped to his feet, yelling out at his pokemon, but it was too late. The bell rang, ending the fight.

"**And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes the semifinals of this year's Youth Fighting Dojo Tournament!**" the announcer said with as much zeal as you'd expect from someone paid to be excited. "**Richard, from Cerulean, and his fighter, Mankey, will proceed to the finals held later in the day! In the meantime, the snack and food bars outside the building…**"

Raven tuned him out. He sighed, a little disappointed that he had slept through the first matches while at the same time relieved. They weren't exactly the best of trainers, and he was sure the previous ones weren't either. There was supposed to be a tournament for the adult trainers held the next day, but he would have moved on by then, much to Berri's displeasure.

"…**our competitors have all fought valiantly…**"

Thinking of him, Raven glanced up. "What did you think Berri?"

"Sno snorunt," he said in a slightly bored tone.

"Yea, I know you could have taken them. But I'm not exactly young enough to compete in the youth tournament, and would you really feel good about beating opponents like that?"

"…sno."

"Thought so," Raven said, glancing downward. "How are you holding up Chewie?"

"…**special deal on tickets for tomorrow…**"

She merely whimpered, lowering her chin onto his arm. He scratched her ear, nodding slightly. "Don't worry girl, we'll be out of here by the end of the day."

"…**and for those of you who just can't get enough, we have a special bout to hold you over till the finals!**"

Raven perked up at that, and so did Berri. He could tell from a few strands of hair being yanked from his head. "Oh?"

"**Our champions from the Adult Tournament last year, Kenny and Vortex, are taking on two very special challengers, the champions from our Johto tournament, Kinsey and Littlefoot!**"

The crowd got unusually excited at that announcement, Raven and Berri being a part of it. Since the pokemon had names, Raven could only guess what kind they would be. He loosened his grip on Chewie once he realized he was squeezing her andbegan watching the entrances to the arena. He had never been to Johto, and never really had an urge to, but perhaps he'd visit it on his way back home. The stage went dark and a drumroll started as the announcer spoke again.

"**And now, introducing our own two time champions, hailing from Vermiiiiillion City, Kenny aaaaaand Vooooooooooorteeeeeeex!**"

Spotlights targeted the left side of the arena as the trainer and his pokemon walked up. The trainer himself looked like a picturesque surfer, complete with no shirt, perfect tan, toned body, sharpedo tooth necklace, dirty sun-bleached hair and bright red floral swim trunks. He had one hand in his pocket as he waved to the crowd, his lively green eyes and lady-killer smile noticeable even from Raven's distance. He could hear the difference in the crowd's cheer, with the entirety of the female fans making themselves heard. Beside him, only slightly shorter but much broader, was the justly named Vortex, a poliwrath. He took up most of the space on the walkway, being almost twice as broad as his trainer. His arms remained by his sides, though Raven could tell he was flexing at least a little bit. His muscles almost seemed out of place on a poliwrath for how big they were, and he could tell that they weren't just for show. His stomach's spiral design was as mesmerizing as any of his species, but it was his eyes that told Raven how serious he was. He was going to leave that arena either victorious or unconscious.

The two stepped onto the arena, the announcer waiting at least a full minute before the cheering went down. It was lengthened by numerous winks sent into the crowd by Kenny, but eventually he put his hands up, slowly quieting the audience. He only looked to be in his mid-twenties, and already famous. As Kenny scanned the crowd, Raven noticed with surprise that he looked at every equally and with gratitude, from his female fans who were reaching through the arena's ropes to try to touch him to the more reserved male fans who were grumbling in jealousy. He looked for a moment at Raven himself, his smile widening ever so slightly when he saw Berri on his head. He nodded, Raven surprising himself by smiling and nodding back.

He was caught off guard when the announcer spoke again. "**Now, for the fabled four time champions of Johto's Adult Fighting Dojo Tournament, hailing from Mohogany Town, Kiiinsey aaaaaand Littlefooooot!**"

From the other side of the arena came the same spotlight introduction, bringing to light two more individuals. The trainer didn't have any certain stereotype that could describe her, but Raven did notice that she was remarkably good looking. He heard some girl nearby mutter about the best trainers also being the best looking as he sized her up.

She looked the same age, if not a little younger than Kenny. Her dark brown hair was parted in the center, only reaching down to her neck in length. She was wearing a fairly plain white T-shirt with a badge design on it accompanied by worn jeans. She was smiling and politely waving at the crowd, though Raven could see her other hand tapping nervously against her leg. She was more beautiful than pretty, and so refreshingly normal-looking that many of the men were imitating the girls from when Kenny arrived. Raven thought he saw her blush when she looked at Kenny, but much like the wave, it seemed more a courtesy. Beside her was Littlefoot, a hitmontop. He was walking normally with his tail wrapped around his midsection instead of spinning on his head, strolling with a cool confidence he seemed to support his trainer with. He didn't appear to have much more muscle than average hitmontop, but Raven knew that looks meant nothing when it came to hitmon. That particular branch of the pokemon genome was fighting before humans could walk, and only grew exponentially. As they reached the arena, he reached up, briefly holding his trainer's hand before stepping forward.

"**These two pokemon have seen their fair share of tournaments and have never backed down from a fight! And now, they fight to keep their glory! May the best mon win! The match begins in five!**"

The crowd went wild as the countdown started, both Vortex and Littlefoot eyeing each other apprehensively.

"**Four!**"

Kenny leaned back against the ropes, not minding the occasional hand brushing his legs from a fan girl. Kinsey clapped her hands together, looking as if she were sending out a prayer.

"**Three!**"

Berri clutched onto Raven's head tightly, much more eager to watch this fight. Even Chewie was hushed, overawed by the immensely powerful pokemon who had entered the arena.

"**Two!**"

Raven raised an eyebrow, noticing that Littlefoot hadn't hopped onto his pointed head yet. He thought their fighting capabilities were a little limited while on foot. Was he that confident?

"**One!**"

Vortex clenched one fist, pulling it back like a slug ready to be shot. Littlefoot uncurled his tail, pointing it back and pushing it against the ground, folding his arms and leaning back on it.

"**FIGHT!**"

"Water pulse!" Kenny wasted no time, immediately going on the offensive. Vortex shot his fist forward, a rippling circle of water appearing and rocketing toward Littlefoot. The hitmontop jumped back, using his tail as a spring to bounce up and out of the way, never unfolding his arms as he moved. The water pulse dissipated as it collided with a psychic wall surrounding the arena, something Raven had just noticed due to its lack of necessity in the previous fight. The psychic pokemon standing around the arena finally made sense. Vortex was already on the move before his attacked had disappeared. He rushed Littlefoot, jabbing out with his elbow in a strong blow.

Again the hitmontop sprung backward onto his tail, narrowly avoiding the attack. He sprung back up just as quickly, sending a powerful kick directly into the poliwrath's stomach. Raven could only see one kick, but as Vortex skidded backward, he could see three points of impact. His mouth gaped in awe. "Triple kick…"

Littlefoot was back on his feet, hopping casually from one to the other. Kenny looked mildly surprised, but Vortex roared out, bringing his arms to his sides, revealing no serious injury. The two squared off, taking poses once more.

"Vortex, earthquake!" Kenny called out, waving his arm out to the side. Raven was curious why trainers tended to do that.

The poliwrath leapt backward, jumping straight up as soon as he landed, coming back to the ground fist first. The impact shook the room, muffled by the force field, but still sending a few unaware people off their feet. Littlefoot had jumped upward, completely avoiding the attack in the air.

"Littlefoot, hi jump kick!" Kinsey shouted, holding her hands balled into fists by her chest. Her voice was… interesting. It was normal enough, but something about it drew Raven's attention… in the split second before Littlefoot attacked. Using his momentum, he drew in one leg and extended the other, aiming directly at his opponent. Vortex had since got to his feet, and with surprising speed for one so muscular, put up both hands in time to catch the other pokemon's foot.

Littlefoot's eyes widened in surprise as Vortex swung him by his foot, slamming him into the ground. He made to repeat his attack when the hitmontop spun in his grip, smacking his tail against the other pokemon's face. The momentary distraction made Vortex loosen his grip, Littefoot kicking off of his hand and flying across the arena. He landed neatly on the spike on his head, already spinning so fast he was blurring.

"Ooh, serious already Littlefoot?" Kinsey asked, possibly not aware that everyone could hear her thanks to her microphone. "He must be good."

Again, something was odd about her voice. Raven frowned. It couldn't have been… familiar? No, he had never seen her before. Had he? She was barely older than he was.

"Very good," Kenny clapped three times, looking honestly impressed. "I didn't think he'd get out of that. Looks like we need to get serious too, Vortex."

The poliwrath slammed his fists together, taking a step back as he readied himself. Littlefoot spun on his head, moving back and forth across the arena, actually leaving small scars in the flooring from spinning so fast. They stood motionless (well, one of them) for several seconds while the crowd grew silent, and soon all could hear the whirring of Littlefoot's limbs.

Kinsey called out, breaking the pseudo silence. "Agility!" Littlefoot moved so fast it was difficult to follow. He initially rushed Vortex, who had moved to stop the advance, but just before getting close enough to actually touch, he zoomed off in another direction, much to his opponent's surprise. He kept moving in varying directions, occasionally passing by the poliwrath and tempting him into lunging after him, something Raven knew would be an immense opening. Something Kenny appeared to know as well, calling out to his partner, "Easy bud. You'll get your chance. He can't do that forever…"

Kinsey giggled. "You'd be surprised…" Littlefoot continuously moved around the arena, drawing indiscernible patterns in the flooring with his spike. Raven noticed that his balance never shifted, even when turning. He supposed his stance never changed either, but it was hard to tell.

After a solid minute, Vortex was looking more and more unnerved. It was all Kenny could do to keep him from dashing toward the blurred hitmontop. Realizing that his pokemon was running out of patience, Kenny made his move. "Use earthquake!"

Vortex jumped up once more, punching the ground with slightly less force than before. The attack was still by no means weak, however, shaking the arena with significant magnitude. Littlefoot looked as if for a moment he had lost his balance, bouncing on the ground slightly and teetering toward Vortex. As he bounced higher and higher on the seismic waves, Raven realized what he was doing.

As the last ripples of the earthquake faded, Littlefoot came to the ground again, bouncing this time in Vortex's direction. The poliwrath looked up just in time to receive a full powered kick straight to the gut, sending him staggering backwards from the power of the counter. He had no time to retaliate, and Littlefoot had already bounced away and was spinning again. Kenny jerked forward, gritting his teeth. "Vortex, use Mind Reader!"

Littlefoot kept his distance as Vortex steadied himself, hopping slightly as his opponent closed his eyes in an uncharacteristically calm demeanor. Littlefoot moved back and forth, hesitant to move. "Oh! Um… Littlefoot, use triple kick!" Kinsey said, almost surprising herself. The hitmontop moved closer, all at once bolting toward the poliwrath.

Three times the pokemon clashed, and again they were on opposite sides of the arena, with neither looking like anything they did had mattered.

"**I don't believe it folks, did you see that? Because I didn't! These pokemon are too fast!**" The announcer called again, the crowd shocked into silent agreement. Raven grinned, wondering if anyone else had seen what had happened. Littlefoot had rushed Vortex with his attack, but the water pokemon had already raised his arm in defense. Because of his Mind Reader, he had easily blocked all of Littlefoot's strikes, despite the other pokemon moving back with each one.

Kenny was grinning, while Kinsey looked anxious. Neither of their pokemon looked injured, although with Littlefoot moving as fast as he was it was hard to tell. Vortex had opened his eyes, and was back in his beginning stance, looking ready but slightly more weary than before. "Water pulse!"

Another rocketed water circle was sent toward Littlefoot, but the pokemon easily slid to the side, evading it. "Again!"

Another ring. Littlefoot repeated his evading move, and again when a third came at him. Vortex was now punching air with both fists, sending water pulse after water pulse in front of him. Kinsey gasped as her pokemon weaved in an out of the attacks, getting dangerously close to a few.

"Now, aim for the ground!" Kenny yelled. Vortex shot his fists toward the ground, and instead of stopping at impact, the rings bounced and headed toward Littlefoot from a different direction, the hitmontop having been caught off guard by the change of attack. One of the rings glanced his side, sending him careening into one head on. He was flung back, landing near Kinsey who was watching nervously. "Quick! Circle throw!"

Vortex dashed for his opponent, who had barely managed to regain his footing before the poliwrath grabbed his torso. He began spinning, letting go of Littlefoot once he had gained some speed.

The other pokemon bounced off of the barrier as if he were a pinball, hitting twice before being sent back to the ground. Raven noticed the psychic pokemon grunting in effort as he hit. "Seismic toss!"

Vortex leapt up, grabbing Littlefoot before he hit the ground. Landing, he leapt again, diving backwards and crashing the hitmontop's head into the ground.

"**My word! What a combo!**" The ref said as Vortex jumped away to the other side of the stage. He had brought his opponent down with such force that his head was halfway buried in the arena, cracks spreading around him. "**Could this be it for Littlefoot?**"

All at once, the hitmontop began spinning, his head actually carving a bigger opening into the ground. Once he was free, he spun out and toward Vortex. The poliwrath raised his arm to block the rolling kick that had been sent his way, letting it fall slightly on impact. Raven could tell he was getting a little worn, but Littlefoot couldn't have gotten out of that attack unscathed. The two retreated again, both looking more determined than before.

"**Guess not! These two fighters look like neither will back down! I think we'll need a new arena after this one!**"

Both Kinsey and Kenny called out attacks at the same time. "Agility!" "Mind Reader!" Once again, Vortex took a calm, collected stance as Littlefoot zoomed around him, neither quite connecting but coming close enough to make the audience gasp several times. Both Kenny and Kinsey were on their toes now, eager to prove their pokemon to be the best.

Littlefoot circled Vortex several times, clashing occasionally only to be blocked by the poliwrath's already extended arm. It seemed to be going nowhere, but the crack each blow made rang through the halls, letting everyone know just how strong they were. Littlefoot broke away, spinning a little slower now while Vortex opened his eyes, his breathing a little ragged. Raven could see Kenny and Kinsey both going over their options in their head, realizing that their pokemon were, for the most part, even.

Kinsey called first. "Close combat!" Kenny's eyes widened in surprise at the reckless call, and Littlefoot moved in for the attack. Before Vortex had a chance to prepare, he was showered by kicks and punches from the hitmontop, all from a painfully close range and packed with power.

It was staggering to watch. Without defending, Littlefoot was leaving himself open to any attack Vortex was able to throw back, which he did several times. But it was obvious that the hitmontop had the upper hand, and soon Vortex was failing to counter-attack or to block anything. "Vortex, Endure!"

The poliwrath put up both arms, now taking every strike without thought of countering. Littlefoot continued to beat down on his opponent, wearing out the physical reserves that had kept him going so long in a last-ditch effort.

Blow after blow. It was almost painful to listen to the unopposed strikes, but Raven didn't turn away. He could feel both Berri and Chewie quivering, though for very different reasons. It wasn't long before the attacks slowed, then came to a stop altogether.

Littlefoot spun away, hopping to his feet. He was panting, yet still had a confident grin on his face. Vortex was bruised and beaten across his entire body, yet he still stood, as resolved as ever. Kenny looked worried, holding a hand out to his poliwrath. Raven nodded. Endure was a dangerous technique. Leaving the pokemon with only the slightest bit of stamina left, it was a last resort. He needed to knock Littlefoot out soon, and fast if he wanted to win.

"Littlefoot! Use focus energy!" Kinsey called out. The hitmontop nodded, pulling his feet together. He closed his eyes, similar to Vortex using Mind Reader. He was pulling together the last reserves of his energy for a final attack.

Kenny realized what was happening, calling out to Vortex. "Quick, use giga impact!" Vortex pulled his arms to his side, rushing Littlefoot like a bull. Raven's eyes widened. With that much weight behind it, a full on giga impact would end the match.

Just before Vortex collided with Littlefoot, the hitmontop jumped up, doing a front flip and swinging his legs in a powerful round kick to the back of the poliwrath's head, sending him crashing to the floor. Littlefoot bounced back, folding his arms in victory.

The audience and competitors gasped in unison as Vortex stood up, looking beaten but not out yet. That is, until he fell backwards, unconscious.

The audience let loose a cheer so loud it drowned out whatever the announcer was trying to say. Kinsey and Kenny rushed forward to their pokemon, Kinsey hugging Littlefoot and Kenny falling to his knees beside Vortex. Raven could hear them talking, but he had to strain himself to hear over the audience. "You did so good! I'm so happy for you!" "You gave it your best, bud… they were really skilled."

"**Well, there you have it. The fabled champions of Johto prove their worth by besting our own champions! Let's hear it for Kiiiinsey aaaand Littlefoooottt!**"

Kenny stood, returning Vortex to his pokeball as he approached Kinsey and Littlefoot. Initially the pokemon moved protectively in front of his trainer, putting himself between her and Kenny. She patted him on the shoulder, nodding as she stood up, and he reluctantly stepped aside. She reached out her hand to take Kenny's, who had already extended his. "Great match. We'll have to compete again some time." He said, putting on a more sincere smile.

She smiled in return, reaching down to hold Littlefoot's hand at the same time. "That sounds like fun. It's been a while since Littlefoot's had such a challenge." She glanced down at her pokemon, who was rolling his eyes. She shrugged, letting go of Kenny's hand. "Well, he won't admit it, but Vortex is probably the best pokemon he's fought in years."

"Heh," Kenny chuckled, hocking his thumbs in his trunks, "We'll have to break your record sometime. See ya around," he said as he began walking to his side of the arena, waving to the fans who were chanting his name.

Kinsey smiled, waving politely again at the fans in the room, scanning over each one with a slightly nervous expression. She scanned up to Raven, pausing when she saw Berri and Chewie, much like Kenny had. Her mouth opened slightly, and then he saw the first real smile she had put on since she entered the arena. And it wouldn't have bothered him so much if it hadn't seemed _so very familiar_.

She turned to exit the arena as the announcer spoke up again. "**Let's not forget Kenny and Vortex, who will be competing in tomorrow's Adult Tournament! Now that our bonus fight is over, we'll get straight on with the Youth Tournament and our two pairs of finalists!**"

_Right now? _Raven thought, glancing at Kenny and Kinsey as they left the arena, making way for the Youth Tournament finalists. He wanted to meet at least one of them. And from the way his hair was jerking back and forth, he thought Berri was thinking the same thing. He bit his lip, looking down at the puppy growlithe in his arms. "Hey Chewie, you want to stay and watch the final round or go and meet those two?"

"Rrrr…ruff!" she barked squirming to be let down. Raven nodded, starting to make his way through the crowd to the exit. This final match wouldn't be anything near the intensity of the last match, anyways.

As he made his way through the spectators and out of the area, he glanced around the clearing around the fighting arena and the nearby gym. There weren't many people outside, though a few crowded around the entrance. He set Chewie down at his feet, but Berri clung to his hair. He supposed it might have hurt him at some point, but he had long grown used to it.

"Sno, sno sno!" Berri said frantically, almost losing his grip and falling. Raven looked a little unwillingly as his hair was pulled to his left, where Berri had spotted the two champions exiting the arena from the side. They were headed in opposite directions, Kenny toward the pokemon center and Kinsey and Littlefoot… right towards him.

He blinked. She was laughing as she tossed a small candy toward Littlefoot, the hitmontop catching it deftly and popping it into his mouth. He was smiling so much it was hard to tell it was the same as the fighter in the arena. They were only a few steps away when they noticed him.

Her face broke into a sweet smile not unlike the one she had flashed him earlier. "Oh, hi! You were in the audience, weren't you?"

Raven found himself smiling despite himself. She was definitely familiar. "Yea, I was. You two make a great team."

Kinsey brushed away the compliment, smirking. "Team? He does all the work. I'm just moral support." She changed the subject almost immediately, smiling brightly at Berri. "That's a snorunt, isn't it? I've never seen one before! He's so cute!" Raven couldn't see it, but he was sure Berri was frowning, always trying to look cool instead of cute. "And weren't you holding a growlithe, too?" She looked toward the ground, where Chewie was peering at her from behind his leg, his pants cuff in her mouth.

Raven gently shook Chewie off, stepping to the side. "Yea, this is Chewie and Berri." Lindsey fell to her knees, holding out her hand and cooing to the puppy pokemon. She approached her hesitantly, reaching out and nibbling slightly on the outstretched fingers.

Lindsey laughed, scratching her behind the ear. "Fitting name, I think." She stood after scratching Chewie once more, waving towards her hitmontop. "I'm Lindsey, and this here is Littlefoot!" The fighting pokemon bowed slightly, and Raven felt tempted to bow in return, but instead picked Berri off of his head and setting him on the ground. "Berri loved watching you fight."

"Sno, snorunt!" Berri exclaimed, looking up at Littlefoot.

He looked down, putting a hand on his hip. "Hitmon? Hitmontop."

"Snorunt snorunt sno!"

Littlefoot laughed. "Hitmon, hitmontop. Hitmontop."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Challenging him already? No patience…"

Lindsey looked at him, confused. "You can understand them?"

He shook his head, grinning. "No, just Berri. We've been together since we were both little."

"Oh, that's so cool!" She exclaimed, imitating her pokemon and putting her hand on her hip, looking down at Berri. "Want a challenge hm? How about this: Once you evolve, come find us in Mohogany Town! We'll be happy to battle!"

Berri sighed, nodding his whole body. "Sno sno…"

She merely laughed, reaching into her pocket, pulling out a pokenav. "Oh, look at the time. I need to get going if I'll be home by tomorrow." She returned the device to her pocket, smiling at Raven once more. "It was nice meeting you… you know, I never actually got your name!"

Raven hesitated smiling in return. Did she know him? It wouldn't stop nagging at him, the familiarity of everything about her. "I'm… Raven."

She cocked her head, as if she knew he wasn't being honest. Again, it was as if he'd seen it before. Still, she held out her hand. Raven took it, shaking. "Nice to meet you, Raven!"

He smiled, wondering if he should drop the whole thing. It wasn't very well held together, anyways. "And you, Lindsey. I'll make good on that challenge someday, too." He jerked his thumb down at Berri, reaching down and picking him up to set him on his shoulder. "He'd never let me forget it otherwise."

Lindsey giggled, patting Littlefoot on the shoulder as she began walking away. "I'll see you then… don't get any cuter on your way!"

Raven raised an eyebrow, watching her retreating figure. He would have to go see her, but only for the battle, he told himself. He glanced down at Chewie, who had completely lost interest and was running figure eights between his legs. He looked at Berri, who was punching his small hands together in mental preparation. He rolled his eyes. "Better get going then."

…

Raven pushed his hands into his pockets, whistling as he walked towards the road leading to Lavender Town. Chewie walked alongside him, while Berri still rode on his shoulder. His left shoulder. He only realized it when it started to get numb. It didn't bother him though.

There was gate heading out of the town in this direction, too. It was curious how closed up this city was, but he passed it off as bad luck. It wasn't easy on his mind to be in such a tight-locked city when he knew he was being chased. Or at least he thought he was.

He stepped into the building, noticing only one guard sitting behind the counter. It was dead silent besides the ticking of a clock on the other side, a vast change from the bustling crowd from the other entrance. He wondered if it was because everyone who wanted to see the tournament had already entered, or no one came this way.

He was leaning on the second option as the guard gave him an odd look as he approached. "You know you're headed to Lavender Town, right buddy?"

Raven nodded, remembered the geography lessons he forced himself to learn. They really were coming in handy. "Yea, can I just go through?"

The guard waved him over, breathing out what could have been a mouthful of advice to avoid Lavender Town or just muttering about doing his job. "Nah, need to check you in on a list of criminals. Should only take a minute or two. We have pictures of most, but we have a few just descriptions…"

Raven looked toward the exit nervously, knowing what was coming. Without the crowd to cover him, this guard might actually take the scanning more seriously.

"Now, you don't have black hair… no tattoo on your arm… but… hey, that's a snorunt, right?"

"What?" Raven said, looking back toward the guard. He was eyeing Berri.

"Says here the cops are looking for a kid with a snorunt. Something about an incident in Vermillion City."

"Vermillion? I haven't been there in weeks. I just came from… from…" he struggled to remember the name of another city close by. He noticed the guard reaching for his phone when he gave up. He picked up Chewie by the midsection, dashing for the door leading out onto the road to Lavender Town.

"Hey! Wait!" The guard called, having just picked up the receiver. "Kid!"

Raven was out the door before he heard anything else. He dashed to the right, knowing the main road was too easy to find him on. He ducked under several branches and hopped several roots before ramming into something that had stepped into his path. "HEY! WATCH IT!"

He bounced on the ground, having grabbed Berri so he wouldn't fall and having no way to catch himself. He grunted as the pain shot up his spine, but it was only brief, thankfully. He looked up, wondering who else had been snooping around in the trees. The other person looked down at the same time. "YOU!"

Raven jumped back, still holding his pokemon. It was the punk from the other day who had tried to steal Chewie, already reaching for the pokeball at his belt in anger. "You messed up all of my plans to join Team Rocket yesterday! You even stole my rightfully stolen pokemon! You're going down! Go, sandshrew!"

He threw out his pokeball, the flash of red light revealing the sandshrew from before. As he attempted to catch the pokeball on the return, out of anger or something else it bounced off his fingertips, landing on a nearby cluster of roots. Raven looked around and, seeing no immediate escape route, he set Berri down, stepping back several paces. "You know what to do, buddy." He set Chewie down beside him, kneeling protectively over her.

Berri immediately dashed for the sandshrew, ramming into him with a headbutt. The other pokemon skidded across the dirt, back against a tree. It angrily kicked up sand, spraying it into Berri's eyes as he charged again. "Sno!" The sandshrew lunged forward in a tackle attack, thinking his enemy was helpless.

Wincing, Berri tried to sidestep before slamming into a tree. He shook his head, standing up just in time to receive the sandshrew's scratch attack. He was sent reeling backwards, his cloak torn and face cut where it had made contact.

Raven gritted his teeth, realizing the trees made Berri's dancing battle style useless. "Berri, use double team!"

Berri began moving quick enough that after-images appeared, littering the small area with his doubles. The punk grunted, throwing out his arm much like Kenny had done. "Sandshrew, sand attack!"

The sandshrew spun, kicking up sand in all directions. The clones rapidly disappeared, but the sandshrew was left alone in between the trees. He looked left and right just before Berri came crashing down on his head.

"Damnit!" The punk yelled, clenching his hand. He realized that even without a clearing, he couldn't win easily. "Use earthquake!"

"NO!" Raven yelled, quickly spotting several trees that might fall if that were to happen. "You can't use that here!

"Screw you! Sandshrew, earthquake!" The pokemon quickly leapt into the air, slamming into the ground.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Raven could almost see the seismic waves rolling through the ground. Berri was already in the air from his rebounded attack, so he picked up Chewie just before they reached him, almost making him fall flat on his face.

The punk got off no better, stumbling and falling on his back at his own pokemon's attack. Soon, the trees around them began shaking, several older and less-firmly rooted trees were teetering dangerously back and forth.

"Berri! Get out of there!" Raven called, struggling to hold onto the squirming Chewie. A tree creaked and groaned nearby as it began to lean, then fall directly toward him. Berri came dashing toward him, ramming into his stomach and driving all three of them back out of the tree's path. It fell to the ground with an enormous crash, and it was only the first of many.

Behind him the trees were too strong to fall, but in front the now fallen tree they heard several more crashes. Raven leapt to his feet, seeing the punk cowering in fear as two trees came toward him from either side. His sandshrew acted the same as Berri had, shoving him out of the way, but didn't manage to avoid the trees himself. The two trees cracked as they landed on the mouse pokemon, making Raven cringe. Several more trees were coming down nearby, sending the punk scurrying off deeper into the forest without so much as a backwards glance for his pokemon. Raven saw the Sandshrew reach out with one paw for his trainer before falling unconscious, the limb falling to the ground with a thud that was muted by the trees falling around him. He watched helplessly as the pokemon was buried in trees from his own attack. He crouched down, holding his arms over both Berri and Chewie to protect them from the branches and pieces of bark that were coming off with each fallen tree.

…

With a final crash, the last tree fell on what looked like a lumber pile. As the dust faded, Raven realized that the earthquake had cause much more damage than he had assumed it would. Berri and Chewie climbed up onto the log that was in front of them, surveying the damage. Raven hopped over the log, looking through the branches for the sandshrew while Berri and Chewie went off in another direction.

He tried to lift one of the fallen trees, but gave up when he couldn't even budge it. The earthquake was incredibly strong to move these trees, even if their roots were weak. He peered through the cracks, trying to remember where the sandshrew was pinned when he saw it, a sliver of yellow amongst the dark brown bark. He noticed it was well under at least four trees, surprised they hadn't simply crushed him. He was tougher than he had given him credit for…

He glanced to his side where Berri and Chewie were running up to him. They were holding the Sandshrew's pokeball. Raven smiled, scratching Chewie and patting Berri on the back. "Thanks guys."

He used the pokeball to turn the sandshrew into a mass of red light, quickly returning it to the ball's interior. The trees shuddered as they all settled into the space that had opened up, Raven staggering as he tried to balance himself. He yanked Berri away from a branch that would have slapped him as it fell, holding out his other hand to stabilize himself as the movement stopped. He held up the pokeball, staring at it for a moment. He looked off in the direction where the other trainer had fled, tightening his grip.

"I didn't want to have to do this yet… but…" Raven frowned as he turned towards Chewie. He reached through his satchel, hoping his hand would brush by a potion, but it only met a few pokeballs. He sighed, pulling a new one out. "Chewie, I need you to relax for me, ok?"

The puppy pokemon yipped, not quite sure what was happening. Raven threw the ball, turning the growlithe into red light and sucking it in. He turned to Berri while the ball wiggled on the ground. "You too. I need to get to Lavender town as fast as I can, or he won't make it."

Berri closed his eyes, nodding slightly. Raven pulled out his pokeball, returning his friend to its confines. He turned back to Chewie's ball, which had just stopped moving. He grabbed it, slipping it into his bag along with Berri's and the sandshrew's.

"Thanks guys. I won't keep you in there long." He said, hopping off of the trees and dashing back for the main road. He sprinted down the path, thoughts mixed with fury and concern.


End file.
